The high court is expected to rule on a Mississippi law banning most abortions after 15 weeks next summer, as campaign season kicks off. At this week’s hearing, the bench’s conservative vast majority signaled its intention to uphold the rule of law, going back decades and potentially introducing a volatile new variable in politics. vote.
The need for Democrats to manage resources between federal and state races could produce some uncomfortable dialogue in the coming months.
“The federal government is definitely not going to save any of us,” said Heather Williams, executive director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. “We’re seeing quick action to do things like protect abortion rights, protect the right to vote, to make sure that our government is looking for those that happen right at the state level. And every who needs to be in it.”
That means Democrats need to be more strategic about where and how they spend, she told CNN.
“It’s very easy to see the star that is the federal elections,” Williams said. “They get all the press, they get the attention. But the truth is, while those lights are shining there, the real work is being done in the states.”
Republicans over the past few decades have placed more emphasis on building power in the states, putting Democrats at a disadvantage they are still struggling to overcome. Republican Governors Association spokeswoman Joanna Rodriguez told CNN that next year’s GOP candidates will have messages tailored to their constituencies – and warned that the Party’s efforts Democracy to nationalize the problem can reduce profits.
“If the National Democrats are going to abort their driving problem next year, they’ve lost the race for Kansas governor,” Rodriguez said. “It won’t help them in states where it’s not seen as favorable as they think it is.”
‘I haven’t seen such energy in a very long time’
Democrats are currently leaning on the backlash spurred largely by voters who support abortion rights, or at least passively support the right to choose, but have failed to make it the top issue in the vote. in recent years due to the protections introduced by Roe v. Wade. .
“We must protect the Democratic Senate majority that has the power to confirm or disprove Supreme Court Justices,” said Jazmin Vargas, a spokesman for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. “At the end of the day, the Supreme Court Justices will make these decisions and so we’re going to make this issue stand out by reminding voters of the importance of electing the Supreme Court.” Democratic House.”
Endangered Democratic incumbents like New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan are looking to reset the stakes in their races, which could determine control of the split room and open or The options are dimmer for Democrats after the court’s decision.
Hassan told CNN in a statement: “My potential opponents support significantly restricting a woman’s freedoms by infringing on her right to make her own health care decisions, and I will is not afraid to compare her record of defending reproductive rights with her support of policies that take away women’s freedoms. “
Wisconsin state treasurer Sarah Godlewski, who is running in the Democratic Senate primary, told CNN she started noticing a clear increase in activism around abortion rights after the Supreme Court allow Texas law to go into effect pending potential challenges.
“When we saw Texas make the ruling a few months ago, there were reproductive equity marches across the state,” said Godlewski. “And I haven’t seen that kind of energy in a very long time, where women organize in places you don’t normally see on issues like this.”
But she also expressed frustration at the lack of action by Democrats in Washington. Like her leading main rival, Wisconsin Governor Mandela Barnes, Godlewski pushed Senate Democrats to vote 60 votes and take legislative action to protect abortion rights.
“I’m really disappointed with my party, to be honest, because we have the House, we have the Senate and we have the White House and we haven’t codified Roe into law,” she said. “And we are allowing this to continue to hang. This issue continues to be an afterthought or an additional credit project.”
Chris Hartline, top spokesman for the National Republican Senate Committee, said it was too early to say whether the court’s final ruling – with multiple options available to judges – would change. broader dynamics of the campaign. But he also doubts the ability of the Democratic Party, whatever happens, to turn it into a powerful political tool.
“Democrats are always trying to get elections to abortion and it never really seems to work. And we know with the problems they have with the political climate right now. Now, they’re going to try to come up with something to strengthen their base,” Hartline said. “And abortion looks like it might be. That’s what they’re going to try. That doesn’t mean it’s going to work.”
‘Democrats can’t just hope that voter outrage will save them’
Leading abortion rights groups and some leading progressive organizations are also concerned that Democratic voters are disillusioned by internal conflicts and stalled legislative efforts by majority parties. on Capitol Hill could provoke an election backlash among Republicans.
“Could we see a huge electoral backlash against Republicans? Yes, I think so. But Democrats can’t just hope that voter outrage will save them,” Nelini said. Stamp, director of strategy and partner for the Labor Family Party, told CNN.
Stamp also warned Democrats not to underestimate the possibility that conservative, anti-abortion voters will go to the polls to reward Republicans as they push for new restrictions following the court ruling.
“This is a 40-year Republican promise to reverse the Roe and Wade war,” Stamp said. “So they’ll also have people who are motivated and say, ‘You guys got the job done.’ And what do we have?”
When asked how the Planned Parenthood Action Fund will motivate voters to choose by choice between 2018 and 2020 but still feel that their vote makes no difference in the fight for reproductive rights, PPAF spokesman Sam Lau acknowledged their exasperation, but pointed out the recent Democratic victory has put pro-choice governors in positions to protect abortion rights.
“Without a governor who believes in reproductive liberties, those states will be looking to pass radical bills like what we saw in Texas and Mississippi,” Lau said. “We’re at a turning point right now, and it’s clear that we can no longer rely on the courts to defend our interests.”
Two of the top election races in 2022 will take place in Michigan and Wisconsin, where the Democratic Govs are. Gretchen Whitmer and Tony Evers, respectively, are seeking re-election in states with Republican-held legislatures. On Friday, Evers tweeted a photo of himself on his desk, surrounded by a women’s room, putting pen to paper.
“I just vetoed five bills restricting access to reproductive health care in Wisconsin,” he wrote, adding: “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again today: as long as I As governor, I will veto any law that turns the clock back on reproductive rights in this state – and that’s a promise.”
Christina Amestoy, a senior spokeswoman for the Democratic Governors Association, said she hoped a campaign waged largely after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn or gut Roe would make the candidates Republicans have a harder time defending or trying to sidestep the issue, as Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin did last year.
“Voters deserve to know where all the candidates stand,” Amestoy said. “I think (the court’s decision) removes or prevents the Republican candidates from hiding behind Roe v. Wade as a mechanism to not have to respond to the campaign trail and just show color. against their real choice when I took office.”
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