Christine Matthews, a longtime Republican strategist whose work focuses on convincing other women to vote Republican, felt good about her party's progress with female voters after the 2014 midterm elections.

Republicans added women to their ranks in the House and Senate, and even defeated a Democratic senator in Colorado who had made the so-called "war on women" the hallmark issue of his campaign.

But two years later, as GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump continually makes misogynistic comments on the trail, Matthews said she feels any progress made with women has been erased.

"We were maybe on the 50-yard line," Matthews said of her party's efforts to woo women. "And now I feel like we’re back at the one."

Matthews' comments came as Trump was engaged in a high profile dust-up with rival Ted Cruz over comments he made about Cruz's wife, Heidi.

A day earlier, Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz traded insults over Twitter, some targeting Cruz's wife. Trump escalated the feud, retweeting an unflattering image of Cruz's wife, Heidi, side-by-side with a photo of his own wife, Melania.

"The images are worth a thousand words," the text on the images read. And in the accompanying tweet, Trump threatened "Lyin' Ted" that he would "spill the beans" on his wife.

Trump's attack on Heidi Cruz was condemned widely by Republican women, who said it was yet another example of Trump's history of disparaging and dismissing women. They fear it may drive away female voters in the 2016 general election, and could do lasting damage to the party.

Tacky even for Trump. Regardless if u like Cruz, Heidi's an accomplished woman who like Melania, supports her spouse https://t.co/5YIjUzH6G5 — Ana Navarro (@ananavarro) March 24, 2016

"Regardless of the outcome, this election has been terrible for women and has definitely set us back," said Lisa Camooso Miller, a former communications director at the Republican National Committee who works with groups seeking to broaden the GOP's appeal to women.

Trump's standing with women has slid in recent months. According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released earlier this month, his favorability numbers dropped 10 points with women since November. Thirty-one percent of women in a CNN/ORC poll released earlier this week said they would be "upset" if Trump were to win the Republican nomination.

Dispelling the 'War on Women'

After the GOP's crushing loss to President Barack Obama in 2012, the Republican National Committee commissioned an autopsy report to determine what went wrong.

One of the key findings was that the GOP's image among women was hurting their chances at winning elections.

A number of their Senate candidates had made false and offensive comments on rape. And presidential nominee Mitt Romney's fumbling efforts to distance himself from those statements, including his cringeworthy remark about having "binders full of women" to consider for positions in his hypothetical administration, didn't help.

The RNC advised Republicans to better communicate their message to female voters if they wanted to have a chance at the White House in 2016.

"Our inability to win [women's] votes is losing us elections."

"Communicating, organizing, and winning the women’s vote should be part of all activities that the RNC undertakes," the autopsy report reads. "Women are not a 'coalition.' They represent more than half the voting population in the country, and our inability to win their votes is losing us elections."

But Trump has blown up that plan.

Exclusive @FiveThirtyEight projection on what the Electoral College would look like if women refuse to vote Trump. pic.twitter.com/kmjxmjnY1l — Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) March 24, 2016

Since entering the race, the billionaire businessman has made numerous comments demeaning women for their looks.

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found a majority of female voters have a "very unfavorable" view of Trump.

Last fall, he disparaged Carly Fiorina's appearance.

"Look at that face!" Trump told Rolling Stone. "Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!"

His "sick obsession" with attacking Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly has started a war with the typically GOP-friendly media outlet.

He's also used a list of seemingly gendered retorts at Clinton, the likely Democratic presidential nominee. He's called her "very shrill," used her husband Bill Clinton's marital indiscretions as a political punchline, and suggested that she "got schlonged" in her 2008 primary run against then Sen. Barack Obama.

The latest skirmish came after an anti-Trump super PAC released a photo of Trump's wife, who is a formal model, posing nude for GQ Magazine. The ad featuring Melania Trump was aimed at Mormon women voters in Utah ahead of that state's primary.

"Meet Melania Trump. Your next first lady," the ad read. "Or, you could support Ted Cruz on Tuesday."

The photos are from a 15-year-old photo shoot from British GQ, and the ad has no connection with the Cruz campaign.

"Be careful, Lyin’ Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife," Trump responded on Twitter.

On Thursday, Trump retweeted an unflattering image of Heidi Cruz, spurring more outrage from women across the political spectrum.

First Carly, then Megyn, now Heidi Cruz. Anyone else see a pattern? Three times isn't a mistake. It's a trend. — Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) March 24, 2016

"It's the pathetic act of a pathetic person," Sarah Isgur Flores, the former deputy campaign manager of Fiorina's campaign, said of Trump's treatment of Heidi Cruz. "Trump is clearly threatened by strong, conservative women like Heidi Cruz, so he attacks her looks and threatens her family."

"My daughter is a sophomore in high school ... They're never going to be Republicans, because this is what they're listening to."

Lasting impacts



While Trump currently has a wide delegate lead in the race to secure his party's nomination, there's a chance he could see the nomination slip from his hands at a contested convention.

But Republican women say Trump's comments on women could have lasting impacts on their standing with female voters.

Trump on charges of misogyny: "Nobody respects women more than I do," calls some language "just show business"https://t.co/lX8DM7pumc — Mashable News (@MashableNews) March 22, 2016

"There's this election, which is disappointing enough, but it’s disappointing to think what this is doing to millennial women," Matthews said. "My daughter is a sophomore in high school, so this is the first time [she and her friends are] paying attention. They're never going to be Republicans, because this is what they're listening to. My daughter is like, 'How can my mom be a Republican?'"

But other Republican women frustrated with Trump, while disappointed with Trump's setbacks on their work, are more optimistic about the future.

"Women are problem solvers and we don’t like to see situations like this," Camooso Miller said. "So I have to believe that the one positive outcome of all of this is that the next cycle or two cycles from now, there will be women who will run who will get back to work and fix what’s been done."

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