Republicans Admit Abortion Could Cost Them in November, New Polling Confirms their Biggest Fear
For Immediate Release: June 27, 2022
Washington, D.C. — According to new reporting from POLITICO, anti-abortion candidates and GOP strategists are deeply worried about the midterm implications of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade. They know the facts: the overwhelming majority of voters support abortion rights.
As John Thomas, a Republican strategist working on campaigns, admitted “[Roe v. Wade] is not a conversation we want to have right now.…this is a losing issue for Republicans.” Added Sarah Longwell, another GOP strategist: Republicans are now “the dog that caught the car.”
More from the reporting:
“In Republican circles, a consensus has been forming for weeks that the court’s overturning of a significant — and highly popular — precedent on a deeply felt issue will be a liability for the party in the midterms and beyond, undercutting Republicans to at least some degree with moderates and suburban women."
Today, new polling from NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist confirms their biggest fear: Voters across the political spectrum are outraged by the Supreme Court’s decision and motivated to respond at the ballot box:
- More than six in ten Americans say the SCOTUS decision will make them more likely to vote in their year’s midterm elections.
- 78% of Democrats are more motivated to vote because of the decision.
- Americans oppose the Supreme Court decision by a 16 points margin.
This is consistent with a new poll from CBS on Sunday that showed:
- Nearly 60% of Americans (59%) disapprove of the Supreme Court’s ruling, including two-thirds of women (67%).
- By more than a 20-point margin, Americans call it a step backward rather than forward for America.
- 56% of women think the ruling will make women’s lives worse rather than better.
- 62% of Independents disapprove of the Supreme Court decision.
- A majority (58%) of respondents support congressional passage of a federal law to make abortion legal nationwide.
- Fifty percent of Democrats report this decision will make them more likely to vote, up from 40% last month, when overturning Roe was a possibility, but not yet a reality.
Other reporters and campaign strategists are taking notice:
- The Hill: Roe v. Wade Ruling injects new urgency into midterms for Democrats
- Newsweek: Republicans Fear Abortion Ruling Will ‘Bail the Dems Out’ in 2024, Midterms
- The Washington Post: Voters may be a lot angrier about Roe’s repeal than the right assume
- NYT: ‘It’s Become Real’: Abortion Decision Roils Midterms, Sending Fight to States
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Planned Parenthood Votes is an independent expenditure political committee registered with the Federal Election Committee.