Charlie Baker Looks to Boost Women's Vote After Latest Poll

Latest poll gives Democrat Martha Coakley a 20 percent lead among women - a group increasingly likely to go vote

More than 300 women of all political stripes met in Boston Thursday to raise money for Republican Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker, but more importantly to grow the ranks of his female support.

"He's pro-choice, he's for equal marriage and at the end of the day, the stuff that matters is when we're going into the grocery store and we're going to the gas pump, when we're trying to make ends meet," supporter Angela Davis said.

It's no secret Baker is heavily courting women: Baker's wife Lauren, having a more prominent role in this campaign than in 2010, has done a series of web videos humanizing her husband, while Baker's 17-year-old daughter Caroline plays a starring role in his latest TV ad.

Caroline says she's not afraid to tell people about the real Charlie Baker; to her, her father is the guy who cries over the TV Show "Extreme Makeover: Home Addition," she says, and can't explain the gender gap in the race.

"To me, he's just my dad, but he's a total goofball and yeah, he's like 6'6" and really a big guy and can be a little bit intimidating. I'm sure, but I could not tell you why," she said.

Baker needs women to come his way - a lot of them. Martha Coakley has a 20 point lead among women over Baker, according to the latest poll, and women are increasingly the ones to get out and vote.

From a room of mostly women to one of mostly men, Martha Coakley was in Lawrence getting the endorsement of the Professional Fire Fighters, where she made a plea to the 12,000 members to help her get out the vote.

Coakley says her plans that support earned sick time and early childhood education are key, but adds her appeal to women goes beyond that.

"I also believe as I have rolled out a regional economic plan that deals with development from the bottom up, not just giving tax breaks to businesses at the top, but that's the plan that works for Massachusetts," Coakley said.

Baker says he does support earned sick time and early childhood ed, though he approaches both differently, and that he has the better economic plan that includes things like doubling the earned income tax credit. 

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