CAROLINE GRAHAM: Why this crazy Halloween costume could help predict who wins the US election

With Halloween falling conscionable 5 days earlier nan astir hotly contested statesmanlike title successful surviving memory, it is small wonderment that politically themed costumes are proving popular.

But there's 1 outfit flying disconnected nan statement shop shelves that mightiness look a small unlikely.

For, while glamor-puss Barbie turned retired to beryllium past year's astir celebrated Halloween costume, partygoers tin expect a sojourn from a very different characteristic connected Thursday – erstwhile 'The Childless Cat Lady' knocks connected nan beforehand door.

The outfits are, of course, a joking reference to nan words of JD Vance, nan Republican nominee for Vice President who outraged millions when he claimed successful 2021 that nan Democratic Party is tally by, 'a bunch of childless feline ladies who are miserable successful their ain lives... truthful want to make nan remainder of nan state miserable too.'

'Look astatine Kamala Harris,' he continued. 'The full early of nan Democrats is controlled by group without children.'

He surely caught nan zeitgeist. Cat ladies person spawned an detonation of memes connected societal media and it's nary coincidence that New York's biggest Halloween parade has 'Meow!' arsenic this year's theme.

'We can't support crazy feline woman costumes connected nan shelves,' said a worker astatine Spirit Halloween successful Los Angeles, which has pop-up stores crossed nan country.

'It's by acold our biggest seller and it's nan aforesaid successful our stores everywhere. Nothing moreover comes close, not moreover Taylor Swift.'

Cat woman costumes and t-shirts are tipped to beryllium nan number 1 bestseller for online unit giants for illustration Amazon and Etsy, too.

Not that everyone will spot nan funny broadside betwixt now and nan predetermination connected November 5.

In truth for Donald Trump and JD Vance, his Yale-educated moving mate, nan childless feline ladies – and nan female fury they provoked – could beryllium dangerously spooky.

That's surely what Kamala Harris is hoping arsenic she desperately courts older female voters successful nan last days of a run now cervix and cervix successful nan nationalist polls.

For while Harris's overwhelming support amongst young women and women of colour has hardly wavered since she replaced Joe Biden connected nan Democrat summons successful nan summer, location is 1 conception of voters who look to beryllium still successful play: Republican women complete 50 could beryllium captious moreover astatine this precocious stage.

As 1 awesome Democratic philanthropist told me: 'Every azygous ballot counts and we person recovered location is simply a swath of Republican women, complete 50, geographically each complete nan state and from each walks of life, who mightiness alteration their minds.

'These are life-long Republicans who held their noses past clip and voted Trump. But this clip astir we are proceeding from our grassroots canvassers that these women are unfastened to change. They don't for illustration Trump's vulgarity and lies.'

They don't for illustration his stance connected abortion, either.

By encouraging nan Supreme Court to abolish Roe v Wade – nan national guarantee of abortion authorities – Trump had already galvanized a powerful conception of nan female ballot against him.

'Abortion is simply a large issue,' confirmed nan Democrat donor. 'And, while galore Republican women are pro-life, they besides opportunity they judge women should person autonomy complete their ain bodies.

'The thought of telling women what they tin and can't do pinch their ain bodies repulses them. The childless feline woman remark enraged each women but peculiarly Republican women of a definite property because it was specified a dumb and insulting point to say. And that circumstantial demographic could good make a quality successful a title this tight.'

So important are these women that Harris spent Monday this week successful nan important battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin launching a nonstop entreaty to Republican women alongside erstwhile Congresswoman Liz Cheney.

During a municipality hallway gathering successful Michigan, lifelong Republican Cheney – whose begetter Dick Cheney served arsenic vice president to George W. Bush – framed nan predetermination as, 'a prime betwixt correct and wrong.'

Cheney said: 'I person galore Republicans who opportunity to me, 'I can't beryllium public'. They do interest astir a full scope of things, including violence, but they'll do nan correct thing. I would show them (Republican women) you tin ballot your conscience and not ever person to opportunity a connection to anybody.'

Canvasser Anne Brown, 54, is successful nan important Pennsylvania suburb of Chester County, wherever Harris and Cheney appeared connected Monday night.

She said: 'You spot gait signs wherever Kamala's sanction is spelled retired successful feline motifs. I deliberation pinch a batch of these women it comes down to basal decency and wanting to protect nan Constitution. Trump is an existential threat to populist and that's why I judge you will spot Republican men and women voting for Kamala, but peculiarly women. Chester County voted Republican for 150 years. But erstwhile I americium speaking to my Republican friends, they are telling maine they are voting for Kamala.'

In the latest New York Times/Siena College poll, Kamala is winning arsenic galore arsenic 4 per cent of voters registered arsenic Republican.

Melanie Barton-Gauss, a retired coach from Florida, is simply a personnel of 'Republican Voters Against Trump'.

'I grew up pro-life, but I americium very patient successful my stance that my views connected abortion are my individual views,' she said. 'Nobody has immoderate correct to enforce our individual belief views connected personification else. Our nation's founders ne'er intended for this state to beryllium a theocracy.'

Referring to Vance's 'childless feline ladies' remark she added: 'What does he think? That women are expected to beryllium barefoot and pregnant? That our full lives are thing but arsenic kid bearers and carers? I did not spell to assemblage to beryllium relegated solely to that role.'

Trump, meanwhile, tin look to his ain surge successful antheral voters successful what has go 1 of nan astir markedly gendered elections of each time.

Harris has immense lead of astir 13 percent poinst among women according to a canvass by nan Wall Street Journal, yet nan aforesaid investigation shows that Trump has a important ten-point lead among men.

In fact, Trump is thought to beryllium eating into nan Democrat's traditional support from achromatic and Latino males, which could itself extremity nan predetermination successful his favor.

Now, nan American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has launched a run titled, 'She's nan Difference: Women voters 50+'.

AARP Vice President Nancy LeaMond said: 'We sewage very willing successful older women voters erstwhile cipher other was focusing connected them.

'There are 63 cardinal women voters complete nan property of 50 and 97 percent of them opportunity they are going to vote.'

The AARP says its ain polling has shown a clear displacement among 50-plus women successful nan past 2 weeks - and they're moving towards nan Democrats.

'We cognize that women complete 50 are very plugged successful said AARP pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson.

'They are focused connected nan news, they are educated, they are motivated, they are fresh to participate.'

A lifelong Republican friend from Texas who didn't want to beryllium named – for illustration galore I've spoken to  because, she explained, 'I would beryllium ostracized by my church, my organization and my family' – is 1 of of those abandoning Trump.

'I voted for Trump successful 2016 and 2020,' she said, 'but this clip I will secretly ballot for Kamala and ne'er show my husband.'

My friend had already been appalled by Trump's infamous 2016 comments caught connected a 'hot mic' by Access Hollywood that he was truthful celebrated he could 'grab' women 'by nan p*ssy'.

Now, pursuing nan abortion authorities and JD Vance's comments, she's yet had enough.

'It would beryllium a small ironic,' she suggested, 'if nan man who said that ends up getting defeated by a bunch of Republican feline ladies'