--- title: Hillary Clinton: Why Young Women Did Not Vote For Her description: The Democratic candidate for president expected large turnout from women looking to elect the first female president of the United States canonical: https://time.com/4566748/hillary-clinton-firewall-women/ author: Jay Newton-Small article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-10T22:35:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:57.436Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Why So Many Women Abandoned Hillary Clinton og:description: The candidate expected—and needed—them to elect America's first female president og:url: https://time.com/4566748/hillary-clinton-firewall-women/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt317ec914943f7c02/6988ada18e060153d14682de/election-donald-trump-dina-litovsky-121.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: TIMEPOL Election og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why So Many Women Abandoned Hillary Clinton twitter:description: The candidate expected—and needed—them to elect America's first female president twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt317ec914943f7c02/6988ada18e060153d14682de/election-donald-trump-dina-litovsky-121.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why So Many Women Abandoned Hillary Clinton > Sponsored content. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=1c383d03-4e27-471a-ba5e-7ae9fe6ccd1f&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Hillary Clinton's Concession Speech [Watch (HLS stream): Hillary Clinton's Concession Speech](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/NWhU9Yb4.m3u8) (13:09)  _Published 2016-11-09. Hillary Clinton gives her concession speech following her loss in the 2016 presidential election._  by [Jay Newton-Small](https://time.com/author/jay-newton-small/)  ## Jay Newton-Small Nov 10, 2016 10:35 PM UTC  Scenes at an election night party for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016 in New York's Manhattan borough. Trump faces Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the contest for president of the United States. Scenes at an election night party for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016 in New York's Manhattan borough. Trump faces Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the contest for president of the United States. Dina Litovsky for TIME  by [Jay Newton-Small](https://time.com/author/jay-newton-small/)  ## Jay Newton-Small Nov 10, 2016 10:35 PM UTC In the final week of [Hillary Clinton’s campaign](http://time.com/4565978/how-hillary-clinton-lost/), a group of mostly women formed a secret Facebook group called [Pantsuit Nation](https://www.facebook.com/pantsuitnation11.8/). It rapidly ballooned by Election Day to nearly three million members. They posted photos of themselves [voting in pantsuits to honor Clinton](http://motto.time.com/4560536/hillary-clinton-pantsuit-nation/). They organized trips to the polls for those who couldn’t drive or needed childcare. They came out of the closet to their new community of virtual friends as queer or bisexual and talked about the importance of being “stronger together” for their daughters and their sons. Surely, this group was evidence of a surge of women’s support for the potential first female president? But it wasn’t. Clinton made some gains amongst college-educated white women, but overall she lagged compared to President Obama’s 2012 turnout among young women, Latinas and, most especially, non-college-educated white women, whose overwhelming support of Donald Trump (at a rate of 62 percent overall, according to [exit polls](http://www.cnn.com/election/results/exit-polls)) helped turn the tide particularly in the Rust Belt. What happened to Clinton’s firewall: women? How could women not support the first presidential candidate with an agenda focused on equal pay, paid family medical leave and childcare? How could they not vote against a racist, sexist candidate like Donald Trump accused of groping more than a dozen women? How could they not flock to the polls in record numbers to elect the first female president of the United States? Clinton chose to focus her campaign on women. Her crowds were mostly female; her donors were more than 60 percent female. She made this race about the historic nature of her candidacy. But in focusing so heavily on women, Clinton all but ceded much of the male vote, especially the white male vote, to Trump. And she failed to close her case with key groups of women: Millennials, Latinas and non-college-educated white women. Clinton herself talked about how she wasn’t a natural politician like her husband and President Obama. She’s never had the moving oratory skills they both possess. This isn’t uncommon amongst female leaders. Margaret Thatcher, Golda Meier, Angela Merkel—all are pragmatists known more for getting things done than for soaring inspiration. Clinton, though, ended up playing the hectoring housewife at times to Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, lecturing them on their pie-in-the-sky ideas. As one young woman before the New Hampshire primary put it to me: Going to a Hillary rally was like going on a date with an actuary. You knew what she was saying was important, but it was really boring. Young women craved to be swept off their feet: They wanted to join a movement, yet Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Beyoncé weren’t going to sway them. Overall, Clinton won young voters with 55 percent of the vote, but that’s less than [Obama’s 60 percent in 2012](http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/president/exit-polls), and it’s a safe bet than many of the 7 million voters who stayed home this time were young. After more than 30 years in the national spotlight, Clinton was also perceived as an elite. And it didn’t help that she ran her campaign as a third Obama term, hoping to piggyback on his [popularity with young](http://www.people-press.org/2015/07/23/gops-favorability-rating-takes-a-negative-turn/#views-of-barack-obama) and [minority voters](http://www.cnn.com/election/2012/results/race/president/). Exit interviews with Latina voters, who supported Obama to the tune of 76 percent in 2012 but Clinton with only 68 percent in 2016, showed they found her out of touch. In a year defined by anti-establishmentarianism, Obama’s coattails and Clinton’s insider record conspired to turn off enough minority women voters at the margins to make a difference. Finally, FBI Director James Comey did do some damage when he reopened the investigation into Clinton’s emails. White non-college-educated women had [swung away from Trump following the groping allegations](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/10/prri-atlantic-poll-trump-plummets/503561/). But they swung in record numbers [back to Trump after Comey’s announcement](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/07/post-abc-tracking-poll-clinton-47-trump-43-on-election-eve/) and never returned to Clinton even after she was cleared a second time. This group felt Clinton did not represent them and poorly understood their plight. They resented her for believing she was above the law and the bought Trump’s “Crooked Hillary” message. In short, they didn’t trust her enough to be president, and the historic nature of her campaign meant nothing to them. Trump beat [Mitt Romney’s already hefty margin of 20 percentage points](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/white-women-measure-of-trumps-success/481305/) amongst non-college-educated white women by eight percentage points. In the wake of Clinton’s loss, Pantsuit Nation has turned into part poster board for sorrows and part organizing tool. Women there are outraged, and they want action. Many are weighing running for office. High school students across the country [walked out in protest of Trump’s victory](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/high-school-students-stage-walk-outs-protest-trump-victory-n681646) and protests have taken to the streets of Chicago, Boston, New York and other liberal urban meccas. But all this energy and organization comes too late. Where was this passion before? Abhorrence of Trump failed to drive enough voters to the polls for Clinton. And Clinton’s flawed candidacy failed to inspire enough women—and men—to support her. And so we’re left with this: An angry female electorate with no obvious woman heir apparent and 60 million cracks in a still unbroken glass ceiling. ## Transcript [ APPLAUSE ] Thank you. [ APPLAUSE ] Thank you all. [ APPLAUSE ] Thank you. [ APPLAUSE ] [ COUGH ] Thank you all very much. [ APPLAUSE ] Thank you. [ APPLAUSE ] Thank you, thank you so much. [ APPLAUSE ] A very rowdy group. [ APPLAUSE ] Thank you, my friends, thank you. Thank you, thank you so very much for being here. We love you. And I love you all too. Last night, I congratulated Donald Trump and offered to work with him on behalf of our country. I hope that he will be a successful president for all Americans. This is not the outcome we wanted or worked so hard for, And I'm sorry that we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country. [ APPLAUSE ] But I feel, I feel pride and gratitude for this wonderful campaign that we built together. This vast, diverse, creative, unruly Energized campaign. You represent the best of America and being your candidate has been one of the greatest honors of my life. [ APPLAUSE ] [ APPLAUSE ] I know how disappointed you feel, because I feel it, too. And so do tens of millions of Americans who invested their hopes, and dreams in this effort. This is painful, and it will be for a long time. But I want you to remember this. Our campaign was never about one person or even one election. It was about the country we love and about building an America that's hopeful, inclusive, and big- hearted. We have seen that our nation Nation is more deeply divided than we thought. But I still believe in America, and I always will. And if you do, then we must accept this result and then look to the future. Donald Trump is going to be our President. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead. Our constitutional democracy enshrines the peaceful transfer of power. And we don't just respect that. We cherish it. It also enshrines other things, the rule of law, the principle that we are all equal in rights and dignity, Freedom of worship and expression. We respect and cherish these values too and we must defend them [ NOISE ] [ APPLAUSE ] Now, [ APPLAUSE ] And [ APPLAUSE ] And let me add, our constitutional democracy demands our participation. Not just every four years but all the time. So let's do all we can to keep advancing the causes and values we all hold dear. Making our economy work for everyone not just those, At the top protecting our country and protecting our planet. And breaking down all the barriers that hold any American back from achieving their dreams. We've spent a year and a half bringing together millions of people from every corner of our country to say with one voice that we believe That the American Dream is big enough for everyone. For people of all races and religions, for men and woman, for immigrants, for LGBT people and people with disabilities. For everyone. [ APPLAUSE ] [ APPLAUSE ] So now, our responsibility as citizens is to keep doing our part to build that. Better, stronger, fairer America we seek. And I know you will. I am so grateful to stand with all of you. I want to thank Tim Kane and Anne Holden for being our partners on this journey. [ APPLAUSE ] It has been a joy getting to know them better and it gives me great hope and comfort to know that Tim will remain on the front lines of our democracy representing Virgina in the Senate. [ APPLAUSE ] [ APPLAUSE ] To Barack and Michelle Obama, our country owes you an enormous debt of gratitude. [ APPLAUSE ] We, we thank you. For your graceful determined leadership that has meant so much to so many Americans and people across the world. And to Bill and Chelsea, Mark, Charlotte, Aidan, our brothers and our entire family My love for you means more than I can ever express. You crisscrossed this country on our behalf and lifted me up when I needed it most. Even four- month- old Aidan, who travelled with his mom. I will always be grateful to the creative Talented, dedicated men and women at our headquarters in Brooklyn and across our country. [ APPLAUSE ] [ APPLAUSE ] You poured your hearts into this campaign. For some of you who are veterans it was a campaign after you had done other campaigns. Some of you it was your first campaign. I want each of you to know that you were the best campaign anybody could have ever expected or wanted. And to the millions of volunteers, community leaders, activists and union organizers Organizers who knocked on doors, talked to neighbors, posted on Facebook, even in secret private Facebook sites. [ APPLAUSE ] I want everybody coming out from behind that and make sure your voices are heard going forwards. [ APPLAUSE ] To everyone who sent in contributions as small as $ 5 and kept us going. Thank you. Thank you from all of us. And to the young people in particular I hope you will hear this. I have, as Tim said, spent my entire adult life fighting for what I believe in. I've had successes and I've had setbacks. Sometimes really painful ones. Many of you are at the beginning of your professional. Public and political careers. You will have successes and setbacks too. This loss hurts. But please, never stop believing that fighting for what's right is worth it. [ APPLAUSE ] [ APPLAUSE ] It is. It is worth it. [ APPLAUSE ] And so, we need you to keep up these fights now, and for the rest of your lives. And to all the women, and especially the young women, who put their faith in this campaign, and in me. I want you to know that nothing has made me prouder than to be your champion. [ APPLAUSE ] Now, [ APPLAUSE ] I know, I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling but someday someone will and hopefully sooner than we might think right now. [ APPLAUSE ] [ APPLAUSE ] And, And to all the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful [ INAUDIBLE ] And deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams. [ APPLAUSE ] Finally, I am so grateful. Hopeful for our country and for all it has given to me. I count my blessings every single day that I am an American. And I still believe as deeply as I ever have that if we stand together and work together With respect for our differences, strength in our convictions, and love for this nation, our best days are still ahead of us. [ APPLAUSE ] Because you know [ APPLAUSE ] I believe we are stronger together and we will go forward together. [ LAUGH ] [ APPLAUSE ] And you should never, ever regret fighting for that. Scripture tells us, let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season We shall reap if we do not lose heart. So my friends let us have faith in each other. Let us not grow weary, let us not lose heart. For there are more seasons to come and there is more work to do. I am incredibly honored and grateful to have had this chance. To represent all of you in this consequential election. May God bless you and may God bless the United States of America. [ NOISE ] [ APPLAUSE ] [ APPLAUSE ] Thank you. 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