The term came into widespread use around the time of the 1996 Republican National Convention . The first use of the term in a news article about that election appeared in the July 21 , 1996 edition of '' The Washington Post '' . E. J. Dionne , the article 's author , quoted Alex Castellanos ( at the time a senior media advisor to Bob Dole ) as suggesting that Bill Clinton was targeting a voting demographic whom Castellanos called the " soccer mom " . The soccer mom was described in the article as " the overburdened middle income working mother who ferries her kids from soccer practice to scouts to school . " The article suggested that the term '' soccer mom '' was a creation of political consultants . Castellanos was later quoted in '' The Wall Street Journal '' as saying : " She 's the key swing consumer in the marketplace , and the key swing voter who will decide the election . " Media interest in soccer moms picked up as the election approached . The number of articles on soccer moms in major newspapers increased from a combined total of 12 for the months of August and September to a total of 198 for October and November . The intense media focus stemmed in large part from the media 's belief that soccer moms had become the most sought-after group of swing voters in the 1996 elections . In the end , suburban women favored Clinton by 53 to 39 percent , while suburban men voted for Dole
1996 Republican National Convention
1996 Republican National Convention
Soccer mom