Even in GOP Strongholds, Support for Abortion Rights Holds... Will the Democratic Midterm Strategy Succeed?

Kansas State Votes on Abortion Rights Repeal Constitutional Amendment
Opposition 58.8% · Support 41.2%, Unexpected Victory for Pro-Abortion Side
Democrats Likely to Make Abortion Rights a Key Issue in Midterm Elections

(AP=Yonhap News) On the 2nd (local time), after the state constitutional amendment to remove the abortion rights protection clause was rejected in the primary election in Kansas, USA, residents are cheering.

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Yunjin Kim] In Kansas, USA, a state constitutional amendment to abolish abortion rights was rejected by a referendum. The result, which supports abortion rights in the traditionally conservative state of Kansas, strengthens the analysis that the abortion rights issue could be a boon for the Democratic Party ahead of the midterm elections.

On the 2nd (local time), Kansas held a referendum on the "state constitutional amendment to abolish abortion rights" during the primary elections to select candidates for the November midterm elections. This vote, pushed by the Republican camp, asked residents whether to delete the clause guaranteeing abortion rights from the Kansas state constitution. Currently, Kansas allows abortion up to 22 weeks of pregnancy.

As of 6 p.m. on the 3rd (local time), with about 97% of votes counted, 58.8% of voters opposed deleting the constitutional clause guaranteeing abortion rights, significantly outnumbering the 41.2% who supported it. Kansas is traditionally a conservative area, where in the 2020 presidential election, Republican candidate Donald Trump defeated Democratic candidate Joe Biden by about 15 percentage points, drawing more attention to the result.

With the failure of the constitutional amendment pushed by the Republicans, there are forecasts that the abortion rights debate will work in favor of the Democrats in the November midterm elections. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court officially overturned the federal-level "Roe v. Wade" ruling that guaranteed women's abortion rights, making abortion the biggest political issue in the U.S. Since then, the Democratic Party has been actively advocating for abortion rights to try to turn the tide in the midterm elections. Typically, midterm elections serve as a referendum on the president and tend to be unfavorable to the ruling party. Combined with President Biden's declining approval ratings, predictions had been that the Democrats would suffer significant losses.

This Kansas referendum was the first state-level vote on abortion rights since the Supreme Court ruling. The Washington Post (WP) evaluated the vote result as "proof of the Democratic Party's expectation that the Supreme Court ruling would activate its support base in the midterm elections." The political media outlet Politico stated that while the abortion rights issue may not bring a turnaround for the Democrats, it is "the first evidence that it reduces the gap between the two parties, consolidates the Democratic base, and helps improve the party's perception among swing voters and suburban women."

Accordingly, the Democratic Party is expected to strengthen its response to the abortion rights issue, which prominently mobilizes progressive voters. Politico predicted, "Going forward, the Democratic Party's challenge will be to associate its candidates with abortion rights in the midterm elections and launch attacks on the Republicans regarding this issue, while the Republicans will continue to focus on topics other than abortion rights, such as inflation."

Meanwhile, the Biden administration also welcomed the Kansas referendum result and is accelerating its active advocacy for abortion rights. On the 3rd (local time), the day after the Kansas referendum, President Biden signed an executive order to support the costs for women traveling to other states for abortion at the federal level. Biden praised the vote, saying, "(The Kansas) vote is a strong signal that Americans will vote this fall to preserve and protect abortion rights," and emphasized, "Ultimately, Congress must codify Roe v. Wade into federal law," appealing for Democratic support in the upcoming November midterm elections.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.