Abortion rights take center stage in midterm elections

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – The leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court that would overturn Roe v. Wade now puts abortion rights at the center stage in the mid-term elections. Experts believe this could fundamentally alter the trajectory of the election.

A recently released poll by the Washington Post and ABC News revealed that Republicans and Republican-leaning independents were 10 points more likely than Democrats and those Democrat-leaning to say they’re certain to vote in the fall. Experts now believe that the Supreme Court has changed all of that, as the recent leak will likely motivate Democrats to go to the polls.

“I think it basically drops a hand grenade in the middle of the midterms,” said Donna Crane, a political science lecturer at San Jose State. “Between the two sides whenever the issue of reproductive rights is at risk, is shown to be at risk, that motivates the pro-choice side much more.”

Crane said this will be needed from Democrats after polls have revealed their base to be significantly less motivated to vote than Republicans. She said that over time, this has led the country to this moment in history.

“Knowing how slowly the Supreme Court changes personnel, that's a long game and here we are,” Crane said. “You know President Trump has appointed the last three justices to the bench, an anti-abortion president with an anti-abortion led senate by Mitch McConnell. They were successful in putting three more justices on the bench and now they have a six to three majority, so it's taken them 50 years but they have got there and something I will mention is one of the strategists who laid out that 50-year plan back in the 80s was a young lawyer at DOJ named Sam Alito.” 

Meanwhile, other important issues impacting the landscape of the midterms include high inflation rates, a redistricting year, and a president with an approval rating in the low 40s. But now with abortion rights on the line, Crane says we’ll likely see Democrats mobilize and take action at the polls.

“Every single candidate who's running is going to have to answer tenacious questions from their potential voters about what they think about this issue and generally those answers, as we know from public polling, will favor the pro-choice side,” she said. 

As it relates to this issue, in a January CNN poll, almost seven-in-10 Americans said they opposed the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. 

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