Opinion: Harris lost because she was a bad candidate. Don't blame white women for that.

Much like in 2016, I didn’t vote for the woman at the top of the ticket Tuesday.

It’s not because I have fear of a female president. I’m all for the idea.

But don’t expect me and other women to line up for a candidate simply because of her sex – or any other immutable characteristic. I want someone who will stand for my principles and beliefs.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who avoided going through the Democratic primary by booting President Joe Biden last minute from the ticket, proved a completely uninspiring and unsubstantial candidate.

And a lot of voters saw through the charade – including many white women.

In what many expected to be a nail-biter of an election, former President Donald Trump easily trounced Harris.

It’s because he was the better candidate and because he spoke directly to voters’ top concerns. Period.

Yet, that reality hasn’t prevented the tired hand-wringing that Harris’ loss must be tied to something nefarious, such as America’s inherent racism and sexism. Or, even worse, some on the left will try to say many white women didn’t have the wherewithal to stand up to the men in their lives.

To that, I call BS.

Opinion: Trump wins again. Will Democrats now practice what they've preached on democracy?

Democrats' campaign to attract conservative women? Be as condescending as possible.

Apparently, Democrats learned nothing following Hillary Clinton’s loss in 2016. It was expected that all women would flock to Clinton simply because of her sex. They didn’t, and white women helped deliver a win for Trump – much like they did this time.

Clinton never forgave the women who didn’t vote for her and wrote a self-pitying book “What Happened” following the election that documented her disgust.

Opinion: Yes, the stakes are high. But our democracy will survive this election.

While Harris’ sex played less of an obvious role in her campaign, the undercurrents were still there.

The Harris campaign and her acolytes angered a lot of women – and rightly so – when they began actively talking down to conservative women in the final days of the campaign.

For instance, an ad narrated by actress Julia Roberts portrayed two white women who had to secretly vote for Harris so that they wouldn’t upset their husbands.

“In the one place in America where women still have a right to choose, you can vote any way you want, and no one will ever know,” Roberts says in the ad.

At the end, one husband asks his wife, “Did you make the right choice?”

She responds: “Sure did, honey.”

Talk about insulting.

But that’s how Democrats and the media have consistently portrayed conservative women – as if they are living in some sort of “Handmaid’s Tale” nightmare where they have to lie to their husbands to vote how they wish.

Ahead of the election, billionaire investor and Harris supporter Mark Cuban said this: “I really think women are going to win this election for the vice president. I think they’ll come out in numbers. I think they’ll not listen to their husbands. I think they’re going to do the right thing and vote for the vice president.”

Perhaps Trump haters and liberals will learn their lesson this time that condescension isn’t a winning strategy.

The gender gap wasn't as big as predicted. Don't blame sexism.

I wouldn’t count on it, though.

During MSNBC’s election coverage Tuesday, host Joy Reid’s instinct was to bash white women for not winning North Carolina for Harris.

“Black voters came through for Kamala Harris,” Reid said. “White women voters did not.”

Whose fault is that?

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Much like men, women vote on a variety of issues, such as the economy, crime and immigration, and Harris offered voters nothing to give them confidence she could handle these top concerns. I know many women who would never support Harris, given her stance against protecting women and girls' sports and privacy.

Harris seemed to think if she repeated “abortion rights” enough, that it (along with her gender) would be sufficient to bring women to her camp.

While women overall did turn out more for Harris than Trump, white women did not: 53% of white women voted for Trump, and only 45% supported Harris. That is even more support than Trump got eight years ago.

If I were giving advice to the next Democratic presidential candidate, it would be to knock off the blatant disrespect for a clearly powerful group of voters who are perfectly capable of thinking for themselves.

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at [email protected] or on X, formerly Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Opinion: Who voted for Trump in 2024? White women. Here's why