Leah Aldridge, a conservative voter in Georgia, supported Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential primary and is tired of the political circus that surrounds former President Donald Trump.
Ms. Aldridge says Mr. Trump probably will earn her vote a third time in November because she is worried about what President Biden has done with the border.
“In the end, I do feel that the southern border is the issue which will determine my vote,” she told The Washington Times. “That is such a bright line difference between the two candidates.”
Ms. Aldridge is part of an emerging bloc of “border moms” — some call them “safety moms” — whose rising fears of crime and an uncontrolled border are roiling the presidential race and pushing them into Mr. Trump’s camp.
The key demographic for Mr. Trump has long suffered from a gender gap, though he narrowed the gap in his 2020 matchup with Mr. Biden. Further gains for Mr. Trump among female voters make reelection more challenging for Mr. Biden.
The border moms’ fears came together this year with the killing of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at the University of Georgia. The slaying on campus was blamed on an illegal immigrant whom the Biden administration caught and released at the border.
The mob beating of police officers in New York City, rapes in Louisiana and Massachusetts, the shooting death of a 2-year-old in Maryland, and the slaying of a woman in Michigan all were blamed on illegal immigrants who were beneficiaries of relaxed immigration policies under Mr. Biden.
What’s particularly worrying to border moms is fentanyl, the deadly synthetic opioid that is flooding the U.S. thanks to the Mexican smuggling cartels that also control the illegal flow of people.
“This is my kid, this your kid. This is happening all over, and it is happening in our community,” Ms. Aldridge said.
The issue is costing Democrats the support of suburban women, said Paul Shumaker, a North Carolina-based Republican Party pollster.
“Joe Biden has a big problem on the immigration front because that issue is seen as a security issue at home in the suburbs with these women,” he said. “They tie in fentanyl with it and drug overdoses.
“The border is the biggest problem facing the president and his reelection.”
The Biden campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Scrambling to find some solid footing on the issue, Democrats accused Mr. Trump of demonizing all immigrants. In Michigan this week, he used the words “animals” and “not human” to describe violent illegal immigrants.
Republicans were quick to point out that Mr. Trump was singling out the illegal immigrant charged with killing Riley in Georgia.
“If somebody murders another human being, I think they deserve to be called animals, and I don’t think any American is really going to reject that kind of rhetoric,” Republican strategist Scott Jennings said on CNN. “That poor girl was murdered in cold blood. Is that person who did it not an animal? I think that is an apt term.”
Democrats hope to counter the illegal immigration issue with appeals on abortion rights.
The latest Economist/YouGov poll shows that 13% of female voters list immigration as their top issue and 11% list abortion. Both are topped by inflation at 24%.
More than 6 in 10 female voters in the poll disapproved of the way Mr. Biden has handled immigration.
Those findings are similar to other polls that show immigration at the top of mind for voters in general and show a big thumbs-down for Mr. Biden’s border policies.
The disapproval was powered chiefly by Republicans, who gave Mr. Biden abysmal marks for his performance. Even among Democrats, polls show a rising appetite for tougher solutions.
Trump world figures see a significant opportunity to overcome reluctance to the former president.
“We now have a new class of voters called ‘safety moms,’ and when Donald Trump, who they know is strong, says I will keep you safe, they believe him. And then they look at Joe Biden and see how weak he is it makes them nervous,” said Trump pollster John McLaughlin.
“There are plenty of safety moms who may not like Trump’s tweets or watch his rallies or speeches, but they want him back in the White House now because they and their families will feel safer.”
• Stephen Dinan contributed to this report.