Everyone from campaigns to pundits are salivating over the new coveted voter base—suburban women. Media outlets from Fox News to CNN have repeatedly questioned what message will resonate with those suburban moms and which political party will win them. Ironically, I have yet to see one media outlet asking a single suburban mom what she thinks. As one of those suburban moms, leading a national organization made up almost entirely of suburban moms, let me help with your dilemma.
Moms have been the center of every election in the last two decades. We’ve been given many titles—soccer moms, security moms, hockey moms, and now suburban women. The fact is, you don’t need the suburban women vote, you need the mom vote because that’s largely who suburban women are; and all moms care about the same three things. We want our children to be safe, we want them to get a good education and we want them to have opportunities to succeed. How we feel our children will achieve those things may differ based on our own perspective and personal experiences, but the basic concerns are the same.
In 15 years of working with moms across America what we’ve learned is the vast majority of conservative women of faith aren’t voting. In fact, most aren’t even registered to vote. Why? Because moms don’t like politics and politicians have no idea how to talk to us. If you want to reach suburban moms—or any moms for that matter—you can start by talking to us and not at us. Give us a reason to vote—something to hope for, believe in and fight for. Talk to us about what we care about.
So, what are the issues moms care about this election? Six months ago, I would have told you it was open sex co-ed bathrooms and locker rooms being forced on their children’s schools, or Planned Parenthood’s comprehensive sex education posing pornography as curriculum; or biological boys competing in girls’ sports. All those issues were high on moms’ radar because they threatened our children’s safety and opportunities.
Today, however, those concerns have taken back seat to the issues smacking us in the face every day. In just a few short months we went from "should we wear a mask?" to "how can I pay my rent?" We want to know when things will ever get back to "normal" while trying to remember what that normal was. We are tired of media lies and most of us have turned off the news to preserve our sanity. We are fed up with things like face masks and viruses becoming political issues and violent, destructive riots being labeled "peaceful protests." We are afraid for our children’s safety, our family’s future, and our country’s survival.
Moms want order restored, civility returned, and the violence to stop. We want media and politicians to stop dividing us with lies and rhetoric for political gain. We want to know why elected officials aren’t leading; why they aren’t protecting our homes, businesses and neighborhoods; and why they condone and even encourage lawlessness while vilifying the police officers sworn to protect us. We want to shout from the rooftops, “The emperor is wearing no clothes,” hoping commonsense will prevail and sanity will be restored.
The political conventions painted a clear image of the big picture, what’s at stake, and what we’re fighting for. If you want to win over the suburban moms, keep sharing those inspiring speeches from the Republican Convention, the president’s March for Life speech where he called moms heroes and the visual highlights of what this administration has done from protecting life to rescuing hostages. Talk to us, infuse us with hope, focus on the big picture and you will win us over.