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Abortion rights advocates win major victories in Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia
Abortion rights advocates win major victories in Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia
The results sent a stark signal for 2024 about enduring demands across the political spectrum to protect access to abortion, even in conservative states
By Hannah Knowles and Caroline Kitchener
Updated November 8, 2023 at 12:29 a.m. EST | Published November 7, 2023 at 11:26 p.m. EST
Abortion rights advocates won major victories Tuesday as voters in conservative-leaning Ohio decisively passed a constitutional amendment guaranteeing access to abortion, while those in ruby-red Kentucky reelected a Democratic governor who aggressively attacked his opponent for supporting the state’s near-total ban on the procedure. ... In Virginia, a battleground state where Republicans pushed a proposal to outlaw most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, Democrats were projected to take control of the state legislature after campaigning heavily on preserving access.
The results sent a stark signal about enduring demands across the political spectrum to protect access to abortion more than a year after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court, heralding potentially far-reaching implications for the 2024 election. They offered more evidence that the end of Roe and the patchwork of abortion bans that followed have given Democrats a powerful argument to turn out their base and sway moderates and some Republicans. And they reaffirmed that GOP candidates who support restrictions are still struggling to find an effective message, even as some have tried to soften their pitch. ... “If I were an antiabortion politician, I’d be scared,” said Tresa Undem, a public opinion researcher who studies abortion and supports abortion rights.
The most direct test of abortion politics came in Ohio, where abortion rights supporters entered Tuesday optimistic that a ballot measure called Issue 1 would pass. Ohioans had already weighed in on a referendum viewed as a proxy for the abortion fight, voting in August against a proposal that would have boosted abortion opponents’ chances on Issue 1 by making it harder to amend the state constitution.
{Graphic not copied, as it does not show up right at DU.}
Kate Wagner, 51, a registered Republican who has drifted away from the party, said she discussed Issue 1 extensively with her sisters and was voting yes. She didn’t think she would get an abortion, but she also views the issue as deeply personal. ... “My whole thing is that I don’t like the idea of typically old White men telling me what I should be able to do,” said Wagner, who is from Springfield, Ohio. “They’ve never been in that position.”
{snip}
Emily Guskin and Annie Gowen contributed to this report. Graphics by Adrián Blanco Ramos.
By Hannah Knowles
Hannah Knowles is a national politics reporter covering campaigns at The Washington Post. She previously reported for The Post's general assignment desk. Twitter https://twitter.com/KnowlesHannah
By Caroline Kitchener
Caroline Kitchener is a reporter covering abortion at The Washington Post. She won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. Twitter https://twitter.com/CAKitchener
The results sent a stark signal for 2024 about enduring demands across the political spectrum to protect access to abortion, even in conservative states
By Hannah Knowles and Caroline Kitchener
Updated November 8, 2023 at 12:29 a.m. EST | Published November 7, 2023 at 11:26 p.m. EST
Abortion rights advocates won major victories Tuesday as voters in conservative-leaning Ohio decisively passed a constitutional amendment guaranteeing access to abortion, while those in ruby-red Kentucky reelected a Democratic governor who aggressively attacked his opponent for supporting the state’s near-total ban on the procedure. ... In Virginia, a battleground state where Republicans pushed a proposal to outlaw most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, Democrats were projected to take control of the state legislature after campaigning heavily on preserving access.
The results sent a stark signal about enduring demands across the political spectrum to protect access to abortion more than a year after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court, heralding potentially far-reaching implications for the 2024 election. They offered more evidence that the end of Roe and the patchwork of abortion bans that followed have given Democrats a powerful argument to turn out their base and sway moderates and some Republicans. And they reaffirmed that GOP candidates who support restrictions are still struggling to find an effective message, even as some have tried to soften their pitch. ... “If I were an antiabortion politician, I’d be scared,” said Tresa Undem, a public opinion researcher who studies abortion and supports abortion rights.
The most direct test of abortion politics came in Ohio, where abortion rights supporters entered Tuesday optimistic that a ballot measure called Issue 1 would pass. Ohioans had already weighed in on a referendum viewed as a proxy for the abortion fight, voting in August against a proposal that would have boosted abortion opponents’ chances on Issue 1 by making it harder to amend the state constitution.
{Graphic not copied, as it does not show up right at DU.}
Kate Wagner, 51, a registered Republican who has drifted away from the party, said she discussed Issue 1 extensively with her sisters and was voting yes. She didn’t think she would get an abortion, but she also views the issue as deeply personal. ... “My whole thing is that I don’t like the idea of typically old White men telling me what I should be able to do,” said Wagner, who is from Springfield, Ohio. “They’ve never been in that position.”
{snip}
Emily Guskin and Annie Gowen contributed to this report. Graphics by Adrián Blanco Ramos.
By Hannah Knowles
Hannah Knowles is a national politics reporter covering campaigns at The Washington Post. She previously reported for The Post's general assignment desk. Twitter https://twitter.com/KnowlesHannah
By Caroline Kitchener
Caroline Kitchener is a reporter covering abortion at The Washington Post. She won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. Twitter https://twitter.com/CAKitchener
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