A Trump-aligned polling firm has identified a new voting bloc of affluent, college-educated white women shifting further left, dubbed 'Resistance Grandmas.' The analysis stems from a September focus group in Northern Virginia, highlighting their views on politics and society. This trend is linked to changes in voting patterns based on education and income since 2012.
In September, the National Public Affairs (NPA), the polling arm of a Trump campaign-aligned firm, conducted a two-hour focus group with 10 white, liberal, middle-aged, college-educated, upper-middle-class suburban women in Northern Virginia. The session, commissioned under the guise of a neutral research firm, explored their increasingly left-leaning views without revealing its Trump ties.
The study was prompted by an August incident in Arlington, Virginia, where a woman displayed a sign at a school board meeting targeting Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears, a Black former lieutenant governor. The sign read: 'Hey Winsome, if trans can't share your bathroom, then blacks can't share my water fountain.' Participants described the sign as 'ugly' and in poor taste but justified it as a response to Republican 'trans bans.' One woman drew an analogy to Jim Crow-era segregation, referencing hotels that excluded 'No n----rs, no Jews, no dogs.'
Voting data in the NPA report shows shifts since the 2012 Obama-Romney election. College graduates, who leaned Republican 51-47 in 2012, supported Harris 53-45 in 2024. Postgraduates flipped from 55-42 Democratic to 59-38. Non-college voters moved toward Trump, with high-school grads and some college giving him a 56-43 lead. Income patterns reversed too: voters under $50,000 shifted from 60-38 Obama to 50-48 Trump, while those over $100,000 went from 54-44 Romney to 51-47 Harris.
Focus group women portrayed themselves as well-informed, citing the 'luxury' of reading outlets like The Washington Post and New York Times, unlike others focused on daily costs. One recounted turning in a friend who breached the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, after learning she was inside during the riot, saying, 'It wasn't a f---ing open house.'
They expressed hope for Democratic cohesion, urging the party to organize a 'cohesive message' and counter Trump directly, including on issues like the September assassination of Charlie Kirk. The report questions media focus on young white men's rightward shift while overlooking this female demographic's radicalization.