Our survey of 815 women registered voters finds them in a darker mood than a year ago: less hopeful, more frustrated and worried about their ability to make ends meet. Looking towards the midterms, women disapprove of Trump as well as Republicans in Congress and are breaking towards Democrats on the generic House ballot. However, the path to 2028 looks less settled: fewer women see that election as the most important of their lifetime, and the bar for a woman president continues to climb.

Only 23% say they feel hopeful about how things are going in the country, down from 34% in 2025, while 38% feel frustrated. Economic pessimism is the highest we have tracked: 59% are pessimistic about the economy over the next year, including three in four Democrats and a majority of independents. Half say their own finances have gotten worse, and younger women and women of color are the most likely to be struggling to get by.

This sour mood is showing up in the midterms. A majority of women, 59%, have an unfavorable view of President Trump, up from 53% last year, and congressional Republicans have lost even more ground. Women favor a generic Democrat for the U.S. House, 47% to 36%. One in ten are still undecided, mostly younger women and independents. However, partisanship is holding strong: even if women dislike their own party’s candidates, 37% say they would vote for them anyway, and 10% would cross over.

Looking to 2028, the urgency has faded. Only 27% call it the most important election of their lifetime, and among women under 35, that figure is 17%. Openness to a woman at the top of the ticket has slipped with it. 22% say they would not vote for a qualified woman for president, up from 19% in 2025. And the standards for a woman president continue to be stricter: 67% say the first woman president has to be both tough and likable, up from 58% last year.

Women still want more women in office, but the intensity has faded a bit. 78% say electing more women is important, down from 86% in 2025. Four in ten Republican women say there are too few women in office, up from 31% in 2024. Women also trust women in office more than men on every issue we asked about, particularly childcare, where 52% trust women more and only 6% trust men more.

AI is emerging as a new barrier to women running for office. 57% say AI-generated fake images or videos would deter a woman from running, putting it alongside long-standing barriers like negative media coverage and the old boys’ club. Personal use of AI among women is still uneven. 35% have never used a chatbot, including half of women 65 and older, and politics remains a niche use: just 12% have asked a chatbot about politics this year. Among them, the most common uses were fact-checking a claim (29%) and looking up where a candidate stands (29%).

Women are frustrated, pessimistic, and currently want more women in leadership, including a growing share of Republican women. But that support has not carried over to the top of the ticket: more women say they would not vote for a qualified woman for president, the standard for the first one keeps rising, and few see 2028 as the most important election of their lifetime. AI-generated fakes now add one more reason for women to think twice before running. Whether today’s support for women leaders becomes a breakthrough in 2028 will depend on how women candidates meet that higher bar.

*Amanda Hunter, Gender on the Ballot’s Contributing Editor and WPI Adjunct Professorial Lecturer, and Viva de Vicq, Senior Researcher at Tavern Research, will discuss this survey’s findings and the current state of women voters during a virtual panel on October 21, 2026, 6:00pm ET. Details and registration here.