Galvanize Action provides unique research and expertise on moderate women in suburban, small town, and rural America. For media inquiries or to arrange an interview, please contact Kelly Starr, chief external relations officer.
The Trump Ads That Pushed Transgender Rights to Center Stage | The Wall Street Journal | November 2024
“Galvanize Action, a nonprofit that tries to increase civic engagement among moderate, white women, said its final survey before the election found that some 53% of those voters believed people advocating for transgender rights have gone too far in recent years. In comparison, abortion rights were popular with more than two thirds of these same women. Jackie Payne, the group’s executive director, said only a tiny fraction of women they surveyed described this as a top issue but that Trump’s ads helped create a perception among this group that Harris wasn’t focused on the issues they cared about.”
What Swayed Trump Voters Was Bidenomics | The Atlantic | November 2024
“Jackie Payne, the founder and executive director of Galvanize Action, which studies moderate white women, told me that according to her research, many female voters who believed Trump would improve their economic situation simply brushed aside rhetoric and proposals from him that they found troubling. ‘They were choosing to believe a vision of him that was aligned with what they wanted to get out of him—a strong economy—and they were absolutely discounting anything that felt extreme as disinformation or hyperbole, even if he said he would do it,’ she said.”
Meet the Conservative Women Who Are Keeping their Votes for Kamala Harris a Secret | NPR | November 2024
“Because of the gender gap in voting patterns, she (Jackie Payne) says it’s not unusual for women to keep their political opinions to themselves. ‘When there is a conflict in the home, that can be very disquieting. And one of the things that we often hear from moderate white women is that they really hate conflict and they try to avoid it at all costs,’ Payne explained. ‘For a lot of moderate white women, what that looks like is disconnecting from political conversation. So they will withdraw from the conversation to try to avoid the conflict.’”
Message to Women: Vote Your Consciences | Ms. Magazine | November 2024
“Jackie Payne, the founder and executive director of Galvanize Action, has a lot of experience with women who seek political advice from their male partners, bosses, friends and relatives. The 49 million moderate white women that her nonpartisan organization researches are generally civic-minded and vote in high numbers, but they often feel ill-informed and, therefore, are subject to influence, she said. ‘They tell us that they really don’t like politics very much, that they avoid the news, which they view as increasingly negative, and as a result, they end up feeling like the men in their lives know more about politics than they do,’ Payne said. ‘So pretty rationally then, that can lead to relying on these men, these men they trust, on their opinion of who to vote for, even when doing so means that issues that matter very much to these women are not being prioritized.’”
Harris Bets on Big Turnout Among Women to Push Her Over the Finish Line | The Wall Street Journal | November 2024
“Galvanize Action, a nonprofit focused on moderate women, since the spring has been tracking a group of more than 6,000 moderate white women in 10 states, including the seven battleground states. Jackie Payne, the group’s founder, said that they have moved slightly toward Harris. Payne said those voters put priority on the economy, democracy, reproductive rights and immigration. They give Trump an edge on the economy and immigration and Harris an advantage on democracy and reproductive rights. ‘They view it as a freedom and they connect it to healthcare writ large,’ she said of abortion.”
Sky News UK | November 2024
Watch as Executive Director Jackie Payne joins Sky News UK live to discuss the gender gap in the upcoming election and the issues top of mind for moderate white women voters.
Julia Roberts Ad Sparks Debate About Gender Gap, Voting in Marriages | The Hill | November 2024
“Polls show a significant gap, with Vice President Harris winning over a large majority of female voters and former President Trump building up a huge advantage with male voters . . . ‘It’s definitely significant and has the potential of being historic,’ explained Jackie Payne, the founder and executive director of the nonpartisan, moderate women-focused group Galvanize Action. ‘When I’m looking at the data, what I see is, if only men voted, Trump would win,” said Payne, adding that “women are making this a competitive election.’”
Harris Supporters Want to Ensure That, This Time, White Women Vote for a Woman | The New York Times | October 2024
“Jackie Payne, the executive director of Galvanize Action . . . said her organization had been surveying 6,000 moderate, white women in 10 politically competitive states since June. Its most recent findings, from September, showed more moving toward Ms. Harris. The economy was the top issue, followed by preserving democracy, immigration and reproductive freedom. Ms. Payne suggested that many white women were leaning toward the candidate who aligned with their broad values — such as protection and patriotism — rather than their specific policy positions. ‘Trust is really important to moderate white women,’ she said. Both campaigns have taken notice.”
Peering Into the Minds of the Moderate White Women Who Might Just Save Us From Trump | The Nation | October 2024
In this article, The Nation’s Amy Littlefield describes what she learned from Galvanize Action’s research, including data from our recent surveys and listening to our focus groups (in which participants agree to be quoted without personally identifying information). “With the election around the corner, they’ve been running focus groups to determine what moderate white women care about and who they’ll be voting for. In Galvanize’s most recent polling, the economy reigns supreme; 35 percent of white moderate women ranked it as their top issue.”
Donald Trump Is Struggling To Win Over White Women — Here’s Why | Newsweek | October 2024
“Jackie Payne, founder and executive director of Galvanize Action . . . added that while white women are ‘not a monolith,’ telling Newsweek that they are becoming ‘less undecided and increasingly choose the Harris/Walz ticket.’ Payne cited research by Galvanize Action from September which found that moderate white women support Harris at 46 percent and Trump 44 percent.”
The Voter Gender Gap is Growing, and Harris’ Abortion Rights Campaign Could Make it Even Wider | Politico | October 2024
“This race is going to be won at the margins, and I expect it to be the closest race in American political history,” said Jackie Payne, founder and executive director of Galvanize. “And because of the gender gap, and that it’s being driven so much within the white vote, this really is a women’s election.”
Trump and Harris Divided Battle for White Women | CTV News | October 2024
Watch as Executive Director Jackie Payne joins Merella Fernandez, CTV News Toronto to discuss findings from Galvanize Action’s latest research on the issues that matter most to moderate white women and who they trust more on these top issues.
Why Working-Class White Women Could Be So Decisive This Fall | CNN | October 2024
“Jackie Payne is the founder and executive director of Galvanize Action . . . She acknowledges that Trump’s alarms have resonated among working-class White women, especially older ones. These women, she said, ‘express some of the fear around the border crisis; safety and security of their family is a top priority, and they identify the border crisis as a threat.’ But at the same time, Payne said, for many of these women, the vehemence and vitriol of Trump’s attacks on immigrants . . . is also triggering their greatest concern about him: that he’s too divisive, disruptive and chaotic.”
Trump, Harris, and the End of Roe All Collide in Closely Divided Battle for White Women | NBC News | October 2024
“In Galvanize Action’s June poll, when President Joe Biden was still the presumptive Democratic nominee, he and Trump were in a dead heat among white women. ‘Then we started to see, once Harris entered the race, they started to shift a little bit toward Harris,’ Payne said, adding that the survey numbers — like most public polling, currently — is ‘still very much within the margin of error, still very close.’ This group of voters, Payne reminds, ‘is by no means monolithic. And it’s not a runaway race for anybody . . . It’s a game of inches.’”
Will White Women Abandon Republicans and Vote for Kamala Harris? | The Guardian | October 2024
“Polling from Galvanize Action . . . has found the race in a dead heat among moderate white women, who are split 43% to 44% in favor of the former president . . . Trump has the edge when it comes to these women’s top issues of the economy and immigration, but the women polled by Galvanize Action trust Harris more on democracy and reproductive freedom.”
BBC News – The Context | September 2024
Watch as Executive Director Jackie Payne joins Christian Fraser on BBC’s The Context to discuss moderate white women’s role in the upcoming election and the issues top of mind for these voters.
Trump Says ‘Child Care is Child Care.’ Voters Want More than That | Louisiana Illuminator | September 2024
“Jackie Payne, the founder and executive director of Galvanize Action, which connects with and surveys moderate women around issues like the care economy, told The 19th that for moderate White women, their number one issue is the economy and this often means addressing child care. It’s a demographic both campaigns are going after . . . ‘The more that the candidates are talking about health care and child care, the more these voters see this as a positive for parents,’ Payne said.”
The Harris Campaign Takes Its ‘Freedom’ Message to South Georgia — And Conservative White Women | The 19th | August 2024
“White women are the single largest voting bloc in the United States, and reaching white women outside of major metro areas is critical for winning elections, said Jackie Payne, the founder and executive director of Galvanize Action . . . It’s why the Harris-Walz campaign’s choice to focus time, money and energy in south Georgia makes sense, Payne said — especially when they are leaning so heavily on messaging that couples patriotism with reproductive rights.”
Kamala Harris Leads a Party of Women — And Gender Gap Is a Game-Changer | The Times | August 2024
“Across the nation, 75 per cent of moderate white women told Galvanize Action that the question of reproductive rights was important when they cast their vote. In August 47 per cent said they would only vote for a presidential candidate who would take action to protect abortion for everyone.”
Women Make Up the Majority Share of Voters, Including in Swing States | Scripps News | August 2024
Watch Jackie Payne in this Scripps News segment share Galvanize Action’s latest research on the issues that are top of mind for moderate women. “Payne says moderate women are not a monolith, and are actively considering both candidates. ‘Their number one issue is the economy, and they really want to believe that a candidate cares about their family and will deliver for them. And specifically, of course, it’s on inflation and grocery prices, but also on child care and health care and elder care,’ she said.”
Opinion: Undecided Moderate Women Could Tip Scales in November | Chicago Tribune | August 2024
“After a wild few weeks, the top of the ticket is once again set for both Democrats and Republicans. Polls show Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are neck and neck. Over the last several years, we’ve seen presidential elections decided by slimmer and slimmer margins, and 2024 will likely be no different. In fact, it might be even more of a nail biter. There’s one thing that links these historically close election results in recent years — and that’s the voting behavior of America’s moderate women, and particularly moderate white women.”
The Top 50 Women Leaders of Washington for 2023 | Women We Admire | July 2023
Executive Director Jackie Payne was named one of The Top 50 Women Leaders of Washington for 2023! Featured at #40 on the list, Jackie’s career highlights include “connecting with moderate women to promote civic engagement, combat disinformation, and advance progress on key issues. Last year alone, Galvanize Action reached over two million women with programming proven to defuse the culture wars and grievance-based narratives being used to divide us.”
White Women Have Long Been Unreliable Voters for Democrats. Could that Change in 2024? | USA Today | January 2023
“‘If we’re going to advance progress at this critical moment in history . . . we need to both turn out the base and engage more moderate white women to join a multiracial coalition for progress,’ said Jackie Payne, founder and executive director of Galvanize Action, an organization that mobilizes moderate white women.”
In a Post-Roe Era, Here’s How Packard Is Funding the Fight for Reproductive Freedom | Inside Philanthropy | October 2022
This article explores the David and Lucile Packard Foundation’s support of reproductive rights following the Dobbs decision. Jackie Payne was interviewed about the importance of mobilizing moderate voters. “Our research tells us that moderate women have pretty nuanced feelings about abortion, but that the vast majority are very clear that they want their loved ones to be treated with respect and dignity,” said Payne. “And they should have the option to make the decision that’s best for them without government interference . . . if we want to defend reproductive freedom, we really have to be able to engage folks across the ideological spectrum.”
Abortion Gives Democrats a Shot at Flipping a Senate seat in Wisconsin | Reuters | September 2022
“The advocacy group Galvanize Action released nine digital ads about abortion rights in Wisconsin aimed at moderate white women, one of the state’s largest voting blocs.” Executive Director Jackie Payne was interviewed by Reuters and quoted in this September 16, 2022 article. “You have to connect to voters at their values,” Payne said. “And then get them to turn out.”
The Great Battlefield | Supporting Women to Vote Their Values with Jackie Payne of Galvanize USA & Galvanize Action | January 2022
The Great Battlefield covers the political battle being waged over our democracy and explores cutting-edge solutions that help resist division, extremism, and the toxic polarization that is tearing us apart. In this episode, host Nathaniel Pearlman interviews Jackie Payne about her personal and professional journey to founding Galvanize USA and Galvanize Action and how their unique programming is creating a path to progress.