In the wake of revelations about Roe v. Wade's impending doom, fresh polling is starting to lend some insight into how the bombshell Supreme Court ruling could upend the midterm elections.
Sussing out voters' reactions and how the fall of the landmark 1973 ruling might change the political landscape will take time, but the latest polling suggests the news has already energized voters who believe in ensuring access to safe and legal abortions, even at this very early stage in the debate.
A Politico/Morning Consult poll released Thursday found 40% of voters say it is "very important" that a candidate they cast a vote for in the midterms supports Roe v. Wade. That was nearly twice as high as the 22% of voters who called it "very important" for a candidate to oppose Roe.
importance of a midterm candidate's view on the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling?
How important is it to vote for a candidate who Supports/Opposes Roe? |
Supports |
Opposes |
Very important |
40% |
22% |
somewhat important |
16% |
16% |
not too important |
10% |
9% |
not important at all |
18% |
36% |
Don’t know/no opinion |
16% |
17% |
In the poll, just 28% of voters said Roe should be overturned, while 53% said it shouldn't be overturned. (The remaining 19% expressed no opinion.) Again, stated support for Roe being upheld was almost twice that of those favoring its elimination.
The survey also showed that views have become more entrenched since the draft ruling surfaced last week. Democratic support for upholding Roe rose 7 points between Tues., May 3 (the day after news broke) and May 6-9, from 68% to 75%. Republican support for overturning Roe got a smaller 3-point bump to 51%.
Overall, Democratic voters are far more supportive of upholding Roe than Republican voters are of overturning it, with 3 in 4 Democrats favoring Roe, while just 1 in 2 Republicans want to see it fall.
Another poll, conducted by the progressive consortium Navigator Research, also found increasing support for being pro-choice and keeping abortion legal since the draft decision leaked.
Since as recently as late April, the polling showed a net 8-point increase in both the percentage of voters who identify as "pro-choice" (now 62%) and those who believe abortions should be legal in all or most cases (now 59%).
But if Democrats are looking for a home run message on abortion, it's that the decision should be left to a woman and her doctor rather than politicians and the government. Voters agree with that framing by a 71-point margin, with 80% saying a woman and her doctor should make the decision, versus just 9% who say politicians/government should.
In fact, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota picked the most perfectly loathsome Republican politician to be charged with making medical decisions for women across America in an appearance last weekend on ABC News' This Week.
"I think the question voters are going to be asking," Klobuchar explained, "is, ‘who should make this decision?’ Should it be a woman and a doctor, or a politician? Should it be Ted Cruz making this decision, or a woman and her family?"
If your head just exploded thinking about Ted Cruz making your family's medical decisions, you are most certainly not alone.