Three Out Of Four Moms Say They Are Not Better Off Than They Were Four Years Ago And They Plan To Vote In Record Numbers

NEW YORK, Oct. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- CafeMom, the number one site for moms with more than 10 million monthly unique visitors, today announced the results of its latest Moms Matter 2012 survey. The results were released as a part of CafeMom's initiative to inform, inspire and empower moms as the presidential campaign unfolds.

The "Moms Matter" survey gauged moms' feelings on political issues ranging from their perceptions of healthcare reform, to their perspective on the political parties and candidates.

Key findings include:

A vast majority of moms feel their families' situations have not improved during the last four years.  Seventy-seven percent of moms feel that their family's overall situation is the same as, or worse than it was four years ago.   When asked about specific categories including family finances, job security, quality of children's education, safety in their neighborhood, national security and overall happiness, moms said their family's situation was the same or worse than four years ago in every category.

There's an optimism divide amongst Democrat and Republican moms. Republican moms are more pessimistic – Fifty-six percent of Republican moms believe that the American Dream is "dying" or "dead," versus just 29% of Democratic moms who believe this to be true. Sixty-six percent of Republicans believe America's best days are behind us, in sharp contrast to Democrat moms, among whom a majority (63%) believe America's best days are yet to come.

Eighty-seven percent of moms are planning to vote in this election. Moms believe that the elections are important for their family's future.  Seventy-six percent of moms agree that the outcome of the elections will make a big difference in their families' lives. 

Moms take the presidential debates seriously.  Seventy percent of moms said they are likely to watch the presidential debates.  For moms, the debates are about serious issues – 37% are watching to get a better grasp of candidate's policies, and another 27% are watching to get to know the candidates better.  Despite all the press coverage debate flubs get, moms consider the debates no laughing matter – less than 1% said they watch the debates to catch candidates' mistakes.

Job Creation is still a top issue for both Democrat and Republican moms.  Republicans rank National Debt Reduction, the Role and Size of Government, and Job Creation as their top three issues.  Democrats rank their top three issues as Income Equality, Job Creation, and Healthcare Quality and Costs.

Democrat moms are more enthusiastic about Barack Obama than Republican moms are about Mitt Romney.  Democrat moms are largely favorable about Barack Obama.  Seventy-four percent feel he does a good job paying attention to the average moms' concerns, and 82% say he understands families like theirs and what they go through every day.  Democrats give Obama a B grade as the president, and an A- as a debater and speaker.  There is bipartisan support for Obama's role as a husband and father – both Republican and Democrats give him an A in these areas. 

Mitt Romney has not resonated as strongly with Republican moms, with just 41% saying Romney does a good job paying attention to the average moms' concerns, and 56% saying he understand families like theirs.  Republican moms give Romney a B- grade as a candidate, an A+ as a businessman and a C+ as a debater and speaker. There is also bipartisan support for Romney's role as a husband and father – with Republicans giving him A's and Democrats giving him B's in these areas.

Michelle Obama has had a greater impact than Ann Romney.   Eighty-eight percent of Democrat Moms and 36% of Republican moms view President Obama more favorably because of Michelle Obama. Ann Romney's favorability effect was smaller, with 63% of Republican moms and 19% of Democrat moms viewing Mitt Romney more favorably because of his wife.

CafeMom's Moms Matter 2012 will be covering the debates and other key election events up to Election Day.  The goal of Moms Matter is to unite moms regardless of political affiliation, activate them to get informed and take action, and have their voices heard to impact the outcome of the 2012 election.

Survey Methodology: In September 2012, CafeMom conducted a national online survey of 1,000 moms with a child under 18 years old in the household. Global Marketing Research Services programmed and fielded the study, and validated the weighting of the responses by age, race, region of residence, and income. The survey included approximately 30 questions regarding moms' personal circumstances, overall attitudes and feelings related to election issues, and demographics. The study has a margin of error +/- 2.3%.

For more, please visit www.cafemom.com/momsmatter.

About Moms Matter 2012:
Moms Matter 2012 is a nonpartisan platform organized by CafeMom, America's most visited website for moms. The site's mission is to unite moms, regardless of political affiliation, in order to bring the issues they care about most to the forefront of the country's awareness, help shape the outcome of the 2012 election, and ultimately improve the lives of moms and their families in this country.

About CafeMom:
CafeMom is the leading media company for moms, reaching an audience of more than 20MM across our properties (comScore, Aug. 2012), which include CafeMom.com, MamasLatinas.com, CafeMom Studios, and the CafeMom Plus Network. CafeMom is the leader in developing custom programs for top brands, making it the premier strategic marketing partner to brands that want to reach moms in a rapidly changing digital environment. CafeMom lead investors are Highland Capital Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson. The company was founded by Andrew Shue and Michael Sanchez.

SOURCE CafeMom