Blue-Collar White Women Shift to Obama

America's "Jane Sixpacks" are leaning toward the Democratic ticket in growing numbers, the Wall Street Journal reports. White, working-class women voters make up nearly a quarter of the electorate, and polls are finding that the economic crisis is convincing more voters in this vital group to back Barack Obama, especially in swing states like Michigan and Ohio.

The focus of these voters on "kitchen-table issues" and concerns about the financial health of their families are overcoming any reservations the demographic may have about the candidate's race. "I am not 100% crazy about Obama," said one former Illinois factory worker. "But I think he will do better for the middle class." (More white women stories.)