McConnell: Gender gap 'wider than it used to be'

(10 Oct 2018) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged Wednesday that Republicans have a long-standing gender gap when it comes to women voters, but he stood by one key Republican saying "nobody's going to beat" Sen. Lisa Murkowski despite her opposition to Brett Kavanaugh. The GOP leader told The Associated Press he doesn't think the divisive battle over confirming Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court amid the sexual misconduct allegations made the gap in which Republicans trail Democrats in support among women any worse. "I don't see how it could be much wider than it already was," told AP in an interview Wednesday. "We've always had that," he said. "It clearly is wider than it used to be." His remarks were part of a wide-ranging interview in which McConnell also discussed his party's troubles electing women even as he expects the Kavanaugh vote will provide an "adrenaline shot" of GOP enthusiasm at the polls. Heading into the November midterms, the GOP is defending its House and Senate majorities. Only six of the 51 Republicans in the Senate are women. The GOP leader said it's not that there aren't enough Republican women running, but that they don't win their elections the way Democratic women do. "It's a great frustration," he said. McConnell also said one fix he's hoping to make is on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The all-male lineup on the Republican side of the aisle came into focus during Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings. Kavanaugh was accused of sexual misconduct in high school and college. He has denied the allegations. McConnell said he's hoping to convince more Republican women to join the committee, but says he hasn't had much success in the past because "they just haven't been interested." In the interview, McConnell also disputed President Donald Trump's prediction that Alaskans "will never forgive" Murkowski and that she'll "never recover" politically after bucking her party on Kavanaugh. Murkowski voted against advancing Kavanaugh's nomination and "present" on the final vote. "Nobody's going to beat" Murkowski," McConnell said. He noted that Murkowski won election as a write-in vote in 2010. "She's about as strong as you can possibly be in Alaska. Nobody's going to beat her." Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...