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In the wake of a landslide victory for the abortion rights movement in Kansas, Democrats on Wednesday sought to capitalize on indicators of strong voter anger against conservative efforts to limit access to abortion as they looked ahead to midterm elections and other ballot measures with new vigor.
In what was the first head-to-the-ballot test of attitudes about the abortion law since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade In June, Kansas voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a constitutional amendment that would have paved the way for stripping the state of abortion rights. Democrats pointed to the moment as the strongest evidence yet that the ruling by the conservative Supreme Court and other Republican efforts to limit abortion rights will backfire politically on the GOP.
“It’s time to reevaluate the conventional wisdom about midterm elections after this Kansas vote,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) wrote on Twitter. “People are mad as hell about their rights being taken away.”
Turnout was high in Kansas, a conservative state, a big jump during the midsummer vote and, in the eyes of many Democrats, the first major indicator that abortion could prove to be an important motivator in the fall.
President Biden highlighted Wednesday’s vote, saying Republicans “have no idea about the power of American women. Last night in Congress and Kansas, they found out.”
Worried about Biden’s low approval ratings and rising prices, Democrats eyed the fall campaign with trepidation, eager to tap into more salient issues that motivate voters to vote for their candidates. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision, many Democrats have begun to refocus their campaigns more heavily on abortion, framing their candidacies as bulwarks against GOP efforts to curtail reproductive rights.
But until Tuesday, there were no indicators that such a strategy could be as successful as the one that played out in Kansas.
With the constitutional right to abortion established in Rowe is no longer applicable, abortion rights activists are turning to ballot measures, state races and legislative battles to protect and expand abortion rights on an ad hoc basis. Democrats and abortion rights activists, who are largely aligned with the party, are sounding increasingly hopeful that the two efforts can be linked.
Democrats are also trying to boost turnout and generate energy for House and Senate races, where many candidates are also touting efforts they would take at the federal level, including attempts to codify abortion rights into law through a congressional vote.
Still, it remains to be seen whether Democrats can effectively link abortion as an issue to the choices voters make between candidates in the fall. Most Republicans tend to campaign on inflation and the economy, avoiding abortion whenever possible. They were much quieter on the issue than their Democratic counterparts after Tuesday’s vote in Kansas.
At least four other states will have abortion measures on the ballot this November, which party strategists say could boost Democratic turnout in those seats, in addition to passing abortion legislation in those states. These include initiatives in California and Vermont, where measures would protect access to abortion in those states.
Michigan voters are expected to see a measure that would expand and protect abortion access in the state on the November ballot after activists submitted more than 750,000 signatures, more than double the required number. The ballot measure still needs to receive final authorization and is awaiting signatures.
“Kansas’ exceptional turnout today is a bellwether for what’s to come this November in the midterm elections, and it’s critical that we keep this momentum going,” Cecil Richards, former president of Planned Parenthood, said in a statement.
Some Republicans downplayed the impact of the Kansas results — especially for Senate races. They noted that there are currently no abortion referendums on the ballot in seats that will target Senate races. But several House races in California and Michigan, where abortion will be on the ballot, are already expected to be close.
Anti-abortion activists vowed to redouble their efforts after the Kansas results. “The stakes for the pro-life movement in the upcoming midterm elections could not be higher, and there will be many more factors at play,” said Mallory Carroll, spokeswoman for SBA Pro-Life America. “Critically, pro-life candidates are taking offense to expose the extremism of Democrats’ policy goals for taxpayer-funded, nationalized abortion on demand.”
The group poured $1.7 million into its failed effort in Kansas and, along with affiliated groups, plans to pour an additional $78 million into elections this year.
Michigan, a key swing state in recent presidential elections, has a closely watched gubernatorial election this fall, where incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is hoping for re-election. Democrats also hope to flip the state Senate from red to blue and win key battles for the U.S. House of Representatives.
Some activists who oppose the proposed measure on the Michigan ballot say the question facing voters in November will be different than the one Kansans decide on Tuesday.
“It’s very difficult to compare the two ballot measures,” said Kristen Polo, spokeswoman for Citizens for Women and Children of Michigan, a coalition of anti-abortion activists who oppose the ballot measure. “What happened in Kansas does not affect our campaign.”
The Michigan ballot measure would add language protecting access to abortion and other reproductive health services and block the 1931 abortion ban from going into effect if it prevails in the courts. But Polo said the Michigan measure goes much further than the Kansas proposal, tying lawmakers’ hands on creating restrictions on abortion, from parental consent laws to bans on late-term abortions.
“People are extremely confused and very concerned about how extreme this abortion amendment is,” Polo said. Although she sees the abortion battles in Michigan and Kansas as very different, Polo acknowledged one similarity: “I think this is going to be a major issue for voters,” she said. “Even for those who wouldn’t say [abortion] is a major problem for them, it takes center stage.
Abortion rights advocates in Michigan hailed the Kansas vote and suggested the victory could portend success on the Michigan ballot in November.
“This is a HUGE victory for Kansans and a great sign that direct democracy is the *best* way for voters to protect our reproductive freedom,” said Reproductive Freedom for All, a collective of abortion access activists who put the measure on the ballot in Michigan in a series of tweets late Tuesday. The group celebrated the Kansas result for “setting the stage for greater success from our replication measures at the polls this November.”
Meanwhile, voters in Kentucky and Montana will consider new abortion restrictions.
The Kentucky ballot measure would explicitly state that the state constitution does not guarantee the right to an abortion and does not require state funding of abortions. Montana’s measure would create privacy protections and require doctors to provide life-saving treatment to babies “born alive” after an attempted abortion.
Democrats have signaled they will step up their focus on the issue in the coming months across the country, even outside pro-abortion states, and take the fight directly to Republicans.
“Their position is extremely unpopular, which will backfire in battleground states,” said Helen Calla, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “We look forward to reminding voters of the Republicans’ toxic agenda every day until November.
John Wagner and Mariana Alfaro contributed to this report
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