WASHINGTON Sorry, fellas, but Barack Obama's re-election makes it official: Women can overrule men at the ballot box.
For the first time in research dating to 1952, a presidential candidate men chose decisively – Republican Mitt Romney – lost. More women voted for Obama.
It's surprising it didn't happen sooner because women have been voting in larger numbers than men for almost three decades, exit polls show.
But men, who make up less than half the U.S. population, always have exercised power greater than their numbers and they aren't about to stop now.
When it comes to elections, males as a group are more influential because they show less party loyalty than women, who skew Democratic.
Despite all the focus on candidates courting Latinos or the working class, men are the ultimate swing voters. Their move away from Obama this year expanded the gender gap. It wasn't enough to determine the outcome but came close.