Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party as a whole have made the killing of unborn children through abortion a centerpiece of their 2024 campaign, a move that galvanized pro-abortion voters enough to make Harris a candidate for President-elect Donald Trump. It was not enough to give Trump a victory.
Democrats pulled out all the stops: allowing freedom of abortion outside the DNC, stoking fear about miscarriage care, putting abortion bills on the ballot in 10 states, removing pro-abortion celebrities, and trying to heal the nation. He traveled all over the country with the promise of egg defend abortion during pregnancy. But in the face of a faltering economy and a porous southern border, abortion was never a strong enough issue to tip the scales in Democrats' favor.
“Abortion rights, an issue that powered Democratic victories in 2022 ballot initiatives and special elections, has proven less effective this year,” left-leaning CNN said. observed. “Despite the Supreme Court's reversal, Ms. Harris performed much worse than Mr. Biden among voters who think abortion should be legal in most cases. Roe vs. Wade between the two elections. ”
In 2020, Biden won 38 points among voters who think abortion should be legal in most cases, according to a CNN poll. And while the share of voters who hold that view increased from 26% four years ago to 33% this year, Ms. Harris won over that group by just three points.
“This result shows that despite Democrats' success in the 2022 midterm elections and special elections by emphasizing the Republican role in ending elections, this issue is not a deciding factor for many voters. It suggests that Roe vs. WadeThe nation's right to abortion is protected,” CNN continued.
Exit polls from various news outlets show voters are most concerned about immigration and the economy, and they trust Trump more than Harris to address those issues. Abortion was typically ranked third among voters' most important issues in exit polls. trust Harris will likely do a better job of addressing this issue than Trump.
For example, according to a Fox News exit poll, 39% of voters said the economy was their top issue, followed by 2 in 10 people who said immigration and 11% who said abortion. Similarly, the Associated Press (AP) exit poll About 39% of voters said the economy and jobs were their top priority, while 20% said immigration was their top priority.
NBC News exit poll The survey found that 53% of voters support Mr. Trump on immigration issues, while a smaller number of voters, 46%, say they support Ms. Harris on immigration issues.
Abortion is a stronger issue for female voters, with about 20 percent of women citing it as their top issue, compared to 8 percent of men, according to NBC News exit polls. find. However, during exit polls in battleground states. showed She said Harris is more popular with women. Achieve slim margins In some states, Biden had higher approval ratings than he did in 2020. Notably, Trump took the lead among white women for the third time, despite Harris' high-profile abortion campaign.
“The Harris campaign has tried to convince white women that their futures are at risk, and for good reason. President Trump has threatened to oversee another rollback of reproductive rights. is almost guaranteed, and the next president is openly touting a federal ban on abortion,” the leftist said. new republic Rated:
But it wasn't a message of victory for white women. recent Times/Siena It turns out that a majority of white women, like white men, consider inflation and the economy to be the top voting issue. Abortion was second and immigration third. surely, Here are the age groups you should pay attention to: Only 36% of Gen Z women supported Trump, 41% of women ages 30 to 44, 48% of women ages 45 to 64, and women 65 and older supported Trump. 45% supported the former president.
Democrats believed that putting abortion measures on the ballot in 10 states could boost turnout and increase Harris' vote share, but that strategy ultimately proved less fruitful than they had hoped. It turns out there wasn't.
“The hope was to galvanize independent voters not only to vote yes on abortion access, but also to ultimately vote Democratic. But with Donald Trump back in office, As Republicans gained a Senate majority, it became clear that while abortion access was a priority in some red states like Missouri and Montana, that did not translate into blue victories. ” salon analyzed.
It is true that Missouri is overwhelmingly colored in deep red. I voted Donald Trump was again close, 58.5% to 40.1%. passing This is a sweeping amendment that enshrines the right to abortion in the state constitution and removes current pro-life restrictions.
Another example is the battleground state of Nevada. Early Wednesday morning, Trump was expected to win Nevada, but voters also passed An amendment to enshrine the right to abortion into the Constitution (scheduled for another vote in 2026 before being added to the Constitution).
In the end, seven abortion bills were passed, including Arizona, Montana, Missouri, Nevada, and reliably blue states such as Colorado, Maryland, and New York. Three efforts failed, including those in Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota.
“And while Democrats have argued that their efforts on abortion voting in Arizona and other battleground states would help boost progressive turnout and give candidates an advantage, the measure is Even if it passed by a majority, it had limited impact, and may even have helped Republicans by giving them support among voters, “'Release'' on their feelings on the issue,'' Politico. reported. “In a wide range of states, including Arizona, Florida, Missouri, and Montana, majorities of voters supported both abortion rights ballot measures and Republican candidates with anti-abortion histories, including Mr. Trump.”
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her at @thekat_Hamilton.
