How Abortion Affected the Midterms

By: Madeleine Burke

On November 8, the 2022 midterm elections were held. However, more than inflation had an affect on this years midterms, abortion rights also made its mark on the ballot. With the fairly recent overturning of Roe V. Wade, the right to an abortion has become a popular topic of conversation when deciding which candidate to vote for. Republican governors such as Abbot and DeSantis made their opposition to abortion clear during the election and became famous for being opposed to it. While Democratic governors such as Newsom and Whitmer expressed their consistent support for the right to abortion. As this was the first election since the supreme court overturned Roe V. Wade, abortion rights seemed to be one of the first topics on voters’ minds when choosing a candidate. Since then, Idaho, San Diego, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, West Virginia. Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas, and Kentucky have all instituted a total ban on abortion.

Particularly for Democrats, abortion rights became a central reason for them casting their ballot. Even with the rising issue of inflation, abortion rights were still of importance for voters in the election. Specifically, abortion was the deciding factor that prevented democrats from compromising with the opposite party that strictly denied abortion rights, unlike with inflation. This gave the democrats an edge for this uniquely polarized election. While voters usually show less interest in non-presidential elections, opinions on the Supreme Court’s decision fueled motivation to get out and vote. For younger voters, abortion rights on the ballot furthered interest in the midterm elections. In fact, attention to abortion rights continued to rise as the midterms progressed almost surpassing the issue of inflation.

The right to an abortion has been majorly affected by the midterm elections, even if you can’t vote now it’s important to educate yourself and others on the importance of midterm elections. I recommend reading sources such as NPR to learn more about the 2022 election.

Sources:

https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1139040227

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/abortion-was-always-going-to-impact-the-midterms/

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/us/abortion-laws-roe-v-wade.html

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/08/how-abortion-transformed-democrats-midterm-chances.html