Can Palin draw women to the Republicans' side?

ST. PAUL (Reuters) - Can a woman governor who likes to hunt and opposes abortion rights woo enough American women to her side to help win the White House for John McCain?

That is the question as first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin prepares to accept the Republican Party's nomination on Wednesday as its first woman candidate for vice president.

Attractive to the Republican Party's conservative Christian base, Palin could help bring both men and women out to vote for McCain in the November 4 election.

Opinion polls show a tight race with Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, who generally enjoys an advantage with women voters over McCain.

The women's vote in play falls into two categories: independent or undecided white women and those who supported Hillary Clinton in her failed and bitterly contested bid for the Democratic nomination.

Ideology -- especially on the divisive issue of abortion rights, which most U.S. women support -- would deter many Clinton supporters from voting Republican.

"The vast majority of the women who supported Hillary Clinton are unlikely to find a strongly pro-life Republican woman to be an attractive alternative," said Scott Keeter, an analyst at the Pew Research Center.

That point was echoed by former Clinton supporters interviewed outside the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, which runs through Thursday.

"They are ideological opposites," said Kim Spotts, a 52-year-old nurse, explaining why she supported Clinton but would not be swayed by Palin. She said she would vote instead for Obama.

"I would not vote for her (Palin) under any circumstance. ... I really dislike her strong, conservative religious views," said Clinton-turned-Obama supporter Barbara Patchen, a 47-year-old homemaker, as she walked her dog in a park.

But at least two women Patchen knew were taking a look at the McCain ticket because of Palin, she said.

UNDECIDED

McCain's campaign hopes to win over undecided and independent women.

A Gallup daily tracking poll in August showed that among independent white registered voters, 51 percent of the men preferred McCain to 35 percent for Obama. Among women, McCain's advantage narrowed to 42 percent to 41 percent.

"McCain will hope to move some of these votes in his direction with Palin on the ticket," Keeter said, but he added that many women in this group also supported abortion rights and so could be turned off by Palin.

Analysts will be watching polls on this group and wider polls on women in weeks to come to see if they are being swayed by Palin.

"For me it's more about the person and their stand on certain issues. It's not about the gender," said 33-year-old Amy Sawyer, a Minnesota account manager, who said she remained undecided but was taking a closer look at the McCain ticket because of Palin's inclusion.

Palin's personal narrative -- a working mother of five with an unmarried daughter facing a teenage pregnancy -- is also a compelling one for many U.S. women.

"She's a superwoman to me. I'm a lawyer and I'm working too," said 32-year-old Teisha Powell, a Jamaican immigrant and Republican from Florida.

(Editing by Howard Goller and Jackie Frank)