When the right to choose an abortion is on the ballot, it wins. And it will keep winning for the rest of the decade until the right to abortion is secured state by state in all but the deepest red states and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision is rendered moot.
The latest evidence? On Tuesday, the liberal Milwaukee circuit court judge, Janet Protasiewicz, scored a solid victory over the conservative candidate Daniel Kelly in a race whose outcome would determine the majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and pave the way for overturning the 1849 law outlawing abortion. …
As we saw in the 2022 midterms — when the freedom to choose is on the ballot it wins — upending prior voting patterns. The issue today is more real than it was in past races where Democrats always tried to argue its importance. Not surprising. A right withdrawn will always get more attention than a right taken for granted. While we don’t have any exit polls to confirm that abortion was foremost in voters’ minds, the explicit prominence of the issue in Protasiewicz’s campaign and Kelly’s failed attempts to change the topic are evidence that there was one big issue in this race. CONTINUED
Elaine Kamarck, Brookings Institution
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