Shannon Watts Substack: Playing with Fire | How to Galvanize Moderate Women with Jackie Payne | May 2025

This Q&A with Executive Director Jackie Payne explores what inspired her to found Galvanize Action, why engaging moderate women is so important, and what this audience thinks about the current state of democracy in this country.

Donald Trump’s Approval Rating is Falling Faster with Men than Women | Newsweek | March 2025

Jackie Payne, executive director and founder of Galvanize Action, told Newsweek: “Moderate women are taking a ‘wait and see’ approach when it comes to evaluating the Trump administration. A big reason why many in this slice of the electorate voted for the president is because they thought he would improve their economic security. Our research currently shows they’re feeling anxious about that prospect, but they’re willing to take the time and see what this administration does before passing judgement.”

Kamala Harris Was Poised to Crush the Women’s Vote. What Went Wrong? | The Nation | January 2025

“To understand what happened, we have to look more closely at the vast bloc of women voters.” This article takes a deep dive into the exit poll data and shares insights from several national experts including Galvanize Action’s Executive Director Jackie Payne.

Why They Lost | The Atlantic | December 2024

“When voters are deeply unhappy with current conditions, they see stability as the risk. Once voters had reached that conclusion, many of them simply did not want to hear negative information about Trump that would cause cognitive dissonance about their choice. As Jackie Payne, the founder and executive director of Galvanize Action . . . told me shortly before the election, many female voters who believed that Trump would improve their economic situation simply dismissed any rhetoric and proposals from him that they might find troubling.”

The Women Voters Democrats Lost — and Gained — Offer Clues for the Next Era of American Elections | The 19th | November 2024

“Jackie Payne, the founder and executive director of Galvanize Action . . . said that one of the main takeaways from election night is that while Trump won by making inroads with nearly every demographic group, that was not true among White women.”

The Trump Ads That Pushed Transgender Rights to Center Stage | The Wall Street Journal | November 2024

“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.”

Meet the Conservative Women Who Are Keeping their Votes for Kamala Harris a Secret | NPR | November 2024

“(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 . . . 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

“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.”

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 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.”

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.”

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 recent surveys. “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.”

Why Working-Class White Women Could Be So Decisive This Fall | CNN | October 2024

“Jackie Payne . . . 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.”

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.”

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 . . . ‘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.”

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.”

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.”

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

“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 . . . 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.”