Fox News/Opinion Dynamics polling shows Mr. Obama averaged a 59% approval rating among women in 2009, but seven months into 2010, that’s dipped 14 points to just 45%. That’s tough news for a party that is used to benefitting from the gender gap, a phenomenon political analyst Larry Sabato says surfaced in the 1980 presidential election. “It exists in almost all elections, ranging from five to eight percentage points,” according to Sabato.

That begs the question: Why are women more drawn to the Democratic party? Amanda Terkel, Managing Editor for Thinkprogress.org, says Democrats have simply done a better job working on the issues women care most about. “[Women] want equal pay, to make sure they can afford healthcare, that they won’t be penalized because of gender,” Terkel says. Worries about the economy may be eroding female voters’ trust that the Obama administration can get the job done, and now Republicans are hoping to capitalize.