Resounding abortion rights vote in Kansas may reshuffle midterm environment
“When voters know ... abortion is on the ballot, they show up," a pollster said.
2022-08-05 18:10:10 - VI News Staff
Tuesday night's lopsided result in the Kansas abortion referendum -- which saw the anti-abortion measure defeated some 59-41 in a traditionally red state -- has Democrats and Republicans wondering if the post-Roe fight over the social issue marks a sea change in the midterm landscape or a less dramatic shift in an environment that still favors the GOP.
The proposed amendment, which gave voters a direct choice over whether or not to strip the state constitution's abortion protections, marked the first tangible answer to the question of how June's Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade will influence the electorate.
Turnout in the summertime primary spiked to nearly the same level of the 2018 midterm general election. And with an approximately 18-point win for abortion access advocates in one of the nation's conservative bastions, debate is underway among many over whether that victory could ripple outward.
Democrats who spoke with ABC News insist they have a new lease on life after being pummeled by President Joe Biden's low approval rating, historic inflation, high gas prices, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and more.
Republicans, meanwhile, insist the wind is still at their backs -- though even some GOP operatives acknowledge the Kansas results indicate that their gains could be curtailed as the party largely embraces a strict anti-abortion agenda.