A Wisconsin election set the stage last week for Democrats to act on a range of issues in the state, from gerrymandering to election access — but the biggest driving force behind the result was abortion.
Abortion has been illegal in Wisconsin since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June with its Dobbs decision. And Janet Protasiewicz, whose victory in the state Supreme Court race gave liberals a 4-3 majority, made it the fulcrum of her campaign. It was a dominant factor in her ads, and a case challenging the state’s 1849 abortion law is expected to start making its way through the Wisconsin courts next month.
The Wisconsin result is just the latest bit of evidence that abortion is having a transformative impact on American politics. For decades, abortion has been a bedrock organizing issue for GOP candidates who want to turn out their vote, but post-Dobbs, it seems the script has flipped. With Roe overturned, abortion is changing turnout and the political balance of power in states where it is on the ballot, and that’s creating real problems for Republicans. CONTINUED
Dante Chinni, NBC News
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