Some Republicans fear the nation's glossy women's magazines could be the media boost that helps Hillary Clinton get elected,
Politico reports.
Magazines like Elle, Vogue, Glamour and even Cosmopolitan have devoted plenty of space to female candidates and Clinton has been a favorite, Politico said.
They also boast "reach" numbers (online and print readership combined) as high as 53 million, offering female candidates an instant audience that turns to the magazines not only for fashion spreads and lifestyle stories, but increasingly political coverage that they may not pay attention to elsewhere, Politico said of its review of several women's magazines and their increasing political coverage.
It found "that readers will be getting a heavy dose of liberal cheerleading this campaign season along with their skincare, makeup and fashion tips," Politico said.
Capturing that younger female demographic is crucial for candidates. Statistics from the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University showed that in recent elections, woman have outpaced men by 5 million to 7 million more votes, Politico said.
"Additionally, a higher proportion of women under the age of 44 voted in the past four presidential elections. That pattern is reversed among older voters. The main audience of these magazines? Young women," Politico said.
As for Clinton, who has helmed Vogue's cover seven times, editors say she's important to cover but they won't simply report on her because she's a Democrat.
"We’re thrilled that Hillary is in the race," Marie Claire editor-in-chief Anne Fulenwider told Politico. "We’d love to see a woman president for the United States."
The magazine dedicated a whole section in its May issue to "women who run Washington."
Vogue editor Anna Wintour has been upfront about her support of Clinton. "I can only hope that all of you here in Little Rock will be celebrating her come November 2016," Wintour said in 2013 as she introduced Clinton to a crowd there, Politico reported. "Just as all of us, all of us at Vogue, look forward to putting on the cover the first female president of the United States."
Clinton has had a fraught relationship with the media, even as she is the focus of women's magazine spreads.
Salon, in a story decrying coverage of the former secretary of state, said reporters should refocus on looking into her background with the same ferocity as they wrote stories about her distaste for them.
Vox was more direct, stating that Hillary Clinton doesn't need the press, even if some facets of it, like women's magazines, are trying to help her.
"Maybe she will later on — if she slips in the polls — and that would be an argument for giving them care and feeding now. But the laws of politics are simply different for Clinton than they are for the other presidential candidates," Vox said.