Gráinne Seoige attracting male voters but struggling to win over women, poll shows

Gráinne Seoige is attracting strong support from male voters but is struggling to win the backing of women ahead of tomorrow’s general election, according to an opinion poll carried out in Galway West.

The survey by Ipsos B&A on behalf of TG4 found that more than twice as many men in the constituency plan on voting for the Fianna Fáil candidate than their female counterparts.

The former TV presenter is hoping to secure a seat in Galway West, where party stalwart Éamon Ó Cuív is retiring. He had been a member of the Oireachtas since 1989.

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The poll showed Ms Seoige and her running mate, Councillor John Connolly, tied on seven percent, trailing two Fine Gael candidates, two independents, and Sinn Féin’s Mairéad Farrell in the five-seat constituency.

However, further analysis of the results seen by the Irish Mirror show that Ms Seoige is polling considerably better among men, but is struggling to gain traction with female voters in Galway.

Among a sample of 531 adults, just four percent of women said they would vote for Ms Seoige, while nine percent of men said they would be backing her in the general election.

Mr Connolly’s support was evenly balanced among both male and female voters, attracting support of seven percent from each group.

He was more popular with older voters, polling at 12 percent among the over 65s, whereas Ms Seoige was on eight percent. She had no supporters among the 18-24 age group, according to the poll.

The poll had independent Catherine Connolly and Fine Gael Minister Hildegarde Naughton tied on 13 percent. They were followed by independent Noel Grealish on 12 percent, Fine Gael Senator Sean Kyne on 10 percent, and Mairéad Farrell on nine percent.

Independent Ireland candidate Noel Thomas, who was formerly a Fianna Fáil councillor, is polling at eight percent, followed by the two Fianna Fáil candidates on seven percent.

While Ms Seoige and Mr Connolly would be outside of the seat places with that share of the vote, their combined tallies would likely secure one seat Fianna Fáil upon the elimination of the candidate with the lower number of votes.

Interviewing for the opinion poll took place on November 11 and 12, and the margin of error is approximately four percent.

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