Election season in suburbia
“Journeys of discovery aren’t about looking for new lands, but about seeing things with fresh eyes.” Marcel Proust, (1871–1922), French writer
We’ve all made decisions that we ended up struggling with. For me, recently, it was moving from an intown neighbourhood in Atlanta, Georgia, to the periphery. I admit that I’m having a rough time adjusting to the realities of life in the suburbs, the polished houses, the meticulously manicured lawns, the dogwalkers and the tricycle-riding kids on winding roads. It’s an utterly idyllic scene, only disrupted by the faint humming of a lawnmower and the occasional buzzing of an electric delivery van.
However, there’s some comfort for me. As a result of my move I now belong to a group that’s known to be a key voting block and has therefore been hotly fought over during the 2024 presidential election campaign – suburban women.
For several decades, politicians have competed to win the favour of a group that’s been labelled ‘soccer moms’, driving their kids from one activity to the next; ‘desperate housewives’; ‘security moms’, who turned their homes into fortresses after the 9/11 terror attacks; or, just recently, ‘zoom moms’, managing their families’ lives via video chats from their homes.
For the longest time, suburban women constituted a primarily white, primarily conservative demographic. They were committed to traditional family values and politically considered a safe bet for the Republicans. In 2016, Donald Trump still won the suburbs, even though only by a slim margin.
The 2020 elections brought a shift in suburbanites’ political favour, however, giving the Democrats a small edge. Final polls just before the 2024 elections saw Kamala Harris hold a slight lead among suburban voters.
The trend isn’t surprising, regardless of the election results. The suburbs have become more global and ethnically mixed. In the wake of changes in work patterns, the suburbs have made a comeback, attracting working women without kids, amongst others.
That’s a group that Trump’s vice-presidential candidate, J.D. Vance, labelled as “childless cat ladies”. Vance suggested more votes should be allocated to people with children, because they’ve made a stronger investment in the future. I happen to belong to this allegedly pitiful group – even though I have to say, for the record, that I really dislike cats.
The influx from urban areas has made the suburbs more politically and culturally diverse – and more in line with broader societal trends. Take the gender gap, where – according to opinion polls – more women than men support Harris, while the majority of men rally behind Trump. An analysis of recent election cycles has also shown that women tend to vote more reliably and in higher numbers than men.
I tried to verify these statistics in my new backyard – with limited success. Very few of my fellow suburbanites have campaign placards displayed on their front lawns. That may be more of an aesthetic than a political decision, as having a flawless lawn is quite important here.
There may be another indicator too. Early voting allows people to cast their ballots prior to election day. Whenever I drove by the early-voting locations near my neighbourhood there were traffic jams and people lining up at the entrances. Most of the voters standing in line were, in fact, women – young and old, black, white and brown. One morning, I parked my car and joined the line.
The editorial deadline for this issue of the ITJ was at 6.00 a.m. EST on 5 November – election day. This article was written in the preceding week.