Eleanor: Your Guide to Women and Politics

Republican women are supporting presidential hopeful Mitt Romney in greater numbers than GOP men.

Romney advisers say the opinions they hear from women in their research - that they are more interested in his experience, demeanor, and commitment to his family - were echoed in interviews with a dozen “hockey moms’’ at the Rinks at Exeter.

They emphasized Romney’s bipartisanship, his business background, and his reluctance to mount any personal attacks. They downplay his perceived flaws, such as the Massachusetts health care plan, and few mention his changed positions.

More Republican men typically vote than women, though, according to Andy Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. But, Smith says, “If Romney is able to get, say, an extra five percentage points among women than he does men, that certainly is a buffer against any insurgent candidate who’s going to challenge him.”