Overturning Roe Will “Upend The Midterms” & “Boost Democratic Turnout” – “In A Nation Where A Majority Of Americans Believe That Abortion Should Be Legal”

Following reports that the Supreme Court is prepared to overturn Roe v. Wade, news coverage is highlighting how “abortion access is likely to figure prominently in November’s midterm elections” and “reshape the battle” for the Senate — as Democrats’ “base appears likely to be energized if the high court in fact overrules the landmark 1973 decision.”

And polling continues to show – including new polling out today – that voters overwhelmingly oppose overturning Roe:

• ABC News/Washington Post Poll, 5/22: “Amid reports of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, an ABC News/Washington Post poll finds that majorities of Americans support upholding Roe, say abortion should be legal in all or most cases and — by a wide margin — see abortion as a decision to be made by a woman and her doctor, not by lawmakers.”

• CNN Poll, 1/22: “Just 30% of Americans say they’d like to see the Supreme Court completely overturn its Roe vs. Wade decision, with 69% opposed.”

• ABC News/Washington Post Poll, 11/21: “Americans say by a roughly 2-to-1 margin that the Supreme Court should uphold its landmark abortion decision in Roe v. Wade.”

• Gallup Poll, 5/21: 80% of the American public think abortion should be legal

See for yourself what they’re saying about how overturning Roe will “jolt” the midterms:

• MSNBC, Eugene Robinson: “Elections do matter, including elections for the Senate because it matters who the majority leader is… Mitch McConnell is about to overturn Roe v. Wade.”

• MSNBC, Sen. Amy Klobuchar: “It makes the election for the House and the Senate more important than any we’ve seen in our lifetime when it comes to the protection of women’s rights.”

• Bloomberg: Abortion Rights to Reshape Election With Roe Precedent at Risk. “‘This decision will put women’s rights and abortion rights front and center in the elections,’ said Geoff Garin, a pollster who advises Senate Democrats. ‘Up until now, many voters did not take the threat to legal abortion seriously or believe that Roe would be overturned, but now the reality of that threat will be crystal clear.’”

• Roll Call: Leaked draft abortion decision recasts 2022 political realm. “Polling released by Navigator Research last month found that 70 percent of Democrats say the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade would make them more likely to vote in the 2022 elections.”  

• NBC News: Draft abortion decision already begins scrambling the midterms. “Here’s what we do know, as we wrote back in December: If you get rid of Roe, every single state will need a position… And every single primary and general election could be dominated by those specific positions — all in a nation where a majority of Americans believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, and where even more say they support Roe v Wade.”

• Washington Post: Overturning Roe v. Wade could upend the midterms. “The bombshell revelation on Monday night that the Supreme Court is preparing to strike down Roe v. Wade promises to consume Washington in the months ahead and reorder the midterm elections.”

• Wall Street Journal: Roe v. Wade Abortion Case Takes Center Stage on Capitol Hill, Campaign Trail. “Now, abortion access is likely to figure prominently in November’s midterm elections, where Democrats are defending slender control of the Senate… Some political analysts have said a ruling striking down or restricting abortion rights could motivate Democratic turnout.”
  
  
• POLITICO: Democrats hope draft abortion opinion will jolt midterm elections. “The Democratic Senate campaign arm’s executive director, Christie Roberts, said Monday evening that the reported draft opinion ‘has dramatically escalated the stakes of the 2022 election.’ She called for expanding the chamber’s Democratic majority ‘to confirm or reject Supreme Court justices.’”
  
  
• Market Watch: Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade would boost Democratic turnout for midterm elections, analysts say. “The expectations now are that Democrats could fare better… as their base appears likely to be energized if the high court in fact overrules the landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide.”

• National Journal: Republicans will take a political hit if Roe v. Wade overturned. “The politics here decidedly favor the Democrats. Voters mobilize when they’re aggrieved, and the possibility of abortion becoming illegal in a near-majority of states, including three that backed President Biden in 2020, is now closer to reality.”

• The Root: Supreme Court Ready To Overturn Roe v. Wade, according to Leaked Draft Opinion. “‘If this report is true, this Republican attack on abortion access, birth control and women’s health care has dramatically escalated the stakes of the 2022 election,’ said Christie Roberts, executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. ‘At this critical moment, we must protect and expand Democrats’ Senate majority with the power to confirm or reject Supreme Court justices.’”

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