Former GOP state Sen. Ted Kanavas declared that single women pose a problem for the Republican party nationally, but says married women “are more accepting” of Republican messages.

His comments followed former Dem state Sen. Chuck Chvala’s assertion that “the Republican party, nationally and in Wisconsin, has bottled white male anger.”

The pair faced off at UW-Milwaukee’s Zilber School of Public Health on Wednesday offering predictions and observations on upcoming elections.

Asked to comment on the growing “gender gap” among voters nationwide, which shows female voters have been trending Democratic, Kanavas replied, “The biggest struggle for Republicans isn’t necessarily with women, it’s with single women. See, married women, I think, are more accepting of some of the things Republicans talk about, but we do, I think, a poor job of communicating with single women of all backgrounds, whether it be African American, Hispanic, white, whatever.”