A new NBC/WSJ poll came out tonight, and one number is particularly worrisome for Mitt Romney.
According to an NBC analysis of the poll, Obama leads Romney by a whopping 10 points among female voters, a key demographic that tends to turn out reliably on Election Day.
Moreover, on the question of which candidate is better dealing with issues of concern to women, only 24% of voters surveyed chose Romney, compared to 52% who chose Obama.
Those numbers are particularly significant in light of the recent uproar over Missouri Republican Todd Akin's recent comments about "legitimate rape." Although Romney and almost every other member of the GOP have disavowed Akin, his remarks — along with the party's staunchly conservative anti-abortion platform — are threatening to muddy the GOP's already damaged reputation with female voters.
And as the NBC/WSJ poll shows, Romney can't afford to fall much further with this key demographic.