Mount Vernon, Ohio:
Ohio mother Jolynn Donell thinks Republican White House candidate Mitt Romney has what it takes to fix the US economy, but fears he might also take aim at women's rights.
Hers is a dilemma facing many women voters, particularly mothers, in battlegrounds like Ohio in the home stretch of the campaign, as they mull over whether to vote with their pocketbooks or their feminist principles.
"I'm pro-choice. There are certain things that I don't think (Romney) should mess with -- if it's not broken, don't fix it," Ms Donell, 47, told AFP shortly before Mr Romney kicked off a town hall campaign event here Wednesday.
Democratic President Barack Obama has vowed to uphold women's rights, while Mr Romney has called for the US Supreme Court to overturn its landmark 1973 decision legalising abortion.
Ms Donell said she is "sitting on the fence" less than four weeks from the November 6 election, fearing that the economy will continue to sputter under Mr Obama but that Mr Romney may bring more change than she bargained for.
"Our taxes just seem to be mounting," and Mr Obama has not delivered enough new jobs, she said.
"I want to hear what governor Romney is going to offer to see if he can sway my vote."
Julie Fowler, a 2nd grade teacher in Mount Vernon with two daughters in high school, said she too had yet to make up her mind.
She is pro-life, but for the sake of other women she would not want Roe vs Wade overturned.
And yet for the 42-year-old Fowler, who like MS Donell voted for Mr Obama four years ago, the economy under the current president has lost its promise.
"I'm looking to see if Romney is the person to make the change for the middle class," she said.
During his scamper across Ohio Wednesday, Mr Romney stopped at the Buns Restaurant and Bakery in the town of Delaware.
The inside was decked with red, white and blue bunting and several women shrieked with delight when the candidate walked in.
"What I like about this room is not just the enthusiasm but the fact that there are a lot more women in here than men," Mr Romney quipped.
"We're going to win Ohio because women are going to come help me win this thing!"
Ohio is one of the main battlegrounds expected to decide the election and is seen as a must-win for Mr Romney, as no Republican has ever become President without winning the state.
The gender gap has shrunk dramatically in the week since Mr Romney trounced Mr Obama in their first presidential debate in Denver, helping nudge the Republican into the lead in several national and swing state polls.
A Pew Research Center Poll in September found Obama ahead by 56-38 percent among likely women voters. By this week the gap narrowed to a 47 percent tie.
Women make up about 53 percent of the electorate and they tend to vote Democratic. Yet Mr Romney rapidly made up ground as his favorability ratings soared after the debate.
Married mothers tend to worry more about economic issues like unemployment than non-mothers, making them a demographic that may well sway the election in key swing states.
But single women are among Obama's most ardent supporters, and Mr Romney might have been hinting at a shift to the more vote-rich center Tuesday when he told the Des Moines Register he had no plans to limit abortion rights.
"There's no legislation with regards to abortion that I'm familiar with that would become part of my agenda," he said.
Conservatives cringed, women like Donell and Fowler cocked their heads, and Mr Romney reaffirmed his position the next day, insisting that "I'm a pro-life candidate and I'll be a pro-life president."
When a reporter mentioned Romney's comments to Christy Bultsma, a 50-year-old divorcee attending Romney's third Ohio event of the day, in the town of Sidney, she shook her head.
"There he goes, flip-flopping again," the grocery worker said.
While she believes "abortion is murder," she backs a woman's right to choose.
"The choice issue is crucial for many women," Bultsma said, and yet at the same time, "we're in a heck of a mess" economically.
She said she was leaning Mr Obama, but came to the Romney rally to hear whether the challenger had a better economic way forward.
Education student Whitney Levering, 22 and single, was firmly in the conservative camp, even though she remained opposed to restricting abortion rights.
Her focus was on the health of the economy, not social issues, she said in Mount Vernon.
"Some of my friends want to have a choice (on women's rights) and they find that very important," Levering said. "But they feel the economy tops it."
Hers is a dilemma facing many women voters, particularly mothers, in battlegrounds like Ohio in the home stretch of the campaign, as they mull over whether to vote with their pocketbooks or their feminist principles.
"I'm pro-choice. There are certain things that I don't think (Romney) should mess with -- if it's not broken, don't fix it," Ms Donell, 47, told AFP shortly before Mr Romney kicked off a town hall campaign event here Wednesday.
Democratic President Barack Obama has vowed to uphold women's rights, while Mr Romney has called for the US Supreme Court to overturn its landmark 1973 decision legalising abortion.
Ms Donell said she is "sitting on the fence" less than four weeks from the November 6 election, fearing that the economy will continue to sputter under Mr Obama but that Mr Romney may bring more change than she bargained for.
"Our taxes just seem to be mounting," and Mr Obama has not delivered enough new jobs, she said.
"I want to hear what governor Romney is going to offer to see if he can sway my vote."
Julie Fowler, a 2nd grade teacher in Mount Vernon with two daughters in high school, said she too had yet to make up her mind.
She is pro-life, but for the sake of other women she would not want Roe vs Wade overturned.
And yet for the 42-year-old Fowler, who like MS Donell voted for Mr Obama four years ago, the economy under the current president has lost its promise.
"I'm looking to see if Romney is the person to make the change for the middle class," she said.
During his scamper across Ohio Wednesday, Mr Romney stopped at the Buns Restaurant and Bakery in the town of Delaware.
The inside was decked with red, white and blue bunting and several women shrieked with delight when the candidate walked in.
"What I like about this room is not just the enthusiasm but the fact that there are a lot more women in here than men," Mr Romney quipped.
"We're going to win Ohio because women are going to come help me win this thing!"
Ohio is one of the main battlegrounds expected to decide the election and is seen as a must-win for Mr Romney, as no Republican has ever become President without winning the state.
The gender gap has shrunk dramatically in the week since Mr Romney trounced Mr Obama in their first presidential debate in Denver, helping nudge the Republican into the lead in several national and swing state polls.
A Pew Research Center Poll in September found Obama ahead by 56-38 percent among likely women voters. By this week the gap narrowed to a 47 percent tie.
Women make up about 53 percent of the electorate and they tend to vote Democratic. Yet Mr Romney rapidly made up ground as his favorability ratings soared after the debate.
Married mothers tend to worry more about economic issues like unemployment than non-mothers, making them a demographic that may well sway the election in key swing states.
But single women are among Obama's most ardent supporters, and Mr Romney might have been hinting at a shift to the more vote-rich center Tuesday when he told the Des Moines Register he had no plans to limit abortion rights.
"There's no legislation with regards to abortion that I'm familiar with that would become part of my agenda," he said.
Conservatives cringed, women like Donell and Fowler cocked their heads, and Mr Romney reaffirmed his position the next day, insisting that "I'm a pro-life candidate and I'll be a pro-life president."
When a reporter mentioned Romney's comments to Christy Bultsma, a 50-year-old divorcee attending Romney's third Ohio event of the day, in the town of Sidney, she shook her head.
"There he goes, flip-flopping again," the grocery worker said.
While she believes "abortion is murder," she backs a woman's right to choose.
"The choice issue is crucial for many women," Bultsma said, and yet at the same time, "we're in a heck of a mess" economically.
She said she was leaning Mr Obama, but came to the Romney rally to hear whether the challenger had a better economic way forward.
Education student Whitney Levering, 22 and single, was firmly in the conservative camp, even though she remained opposed to restricting abortion rights.
Her focus was on the health of the economy, not social issues, she said in Mount Vernon.
"Some of my friends want to have a choice (on women's rights) and they find that very important," Levering said. "But they feel the economy tops it."
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