WASHINGTON – Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairwoman Suzan DelBene told reporters Friday that ballot questions on abortion access going before voters in several states in November may facilitate vulnerable Democratic candidates in swing districts – potentially increasing the likelihood that the US House of Representatives changes from red to blue.
“As a result, we have consistently seen tremendous voter turnout in elections since November 2022,” DelBene said during a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. “And I have no doubt that we will see this through to the end.”
The Washington state Democrat, who was elected to Congress in 2012 and is leading the House Democrats’ campaign this election cycle, said reproductive rights are also a crucial issue for voters in swing districts where there is no ballot question on access will be.
“Across the country, people are supporting women’s reproductive rights,” DelBene said. “And that will be a big problem. And for some people, that’s the problem.”
Democrats in Congress failed to restore nationwide abortion protections that had existed for nearly 50 years in the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade and the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey ruling.
Conservative Supreme Court justices voted to overturn those two rulings in the Dobbs decision released in 2022, writing that “the authority to regulate abortion will be returned to the people and their elected representatives.”
The court is expected to decide two more cases related to abortion access this summer, just months before voters go to the polls.
A motion originally filed in Texas will decide whether access to mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortion, can remain available as before or revert to pre-2016 prescribing instructions, the court said heard oral presentations March.
The second casefrom Idaho, has to do with whether doctors who perform abortions as “stabilizing care” when the life or health of the pregnant patient is at risk are protected from prosecution under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.
Since the Supreme Court struck down nationwide protections for abortion access, voters in several states — including Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan And Ohio – voted to maintain or introduce access to abortion as a right.
Voters in numerous other states, including Arizona, Florida And Montanaare likely to have the issue directly on their ballots later this year, as are candidates for president from now on.
Federal legislation
DelBene said Friday that Democrats will introduce legislation to restore nationwide abortion protections if they retake the House.
“This will be one of our top priorities to ensure that we re-pass the Women’s Health Protection Act,” DelBene said. “But I’m also confident that we can keep the Senate and move forward.”
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter predicts that Republicans are on track to pick up between one and four Senate seats and likely flip that chamber of Congress from blue to red.
If the Democrats change the House of Representatives, it would mean a continuation of divided government, regardless of who wins the presidential election.
Cook’s Political Report Forecasts 203 seats suggest at least Democratic control, while 210 are rated as solid, likely or slightly Republican. That leaves 22 seats in the toss-up category, with a total of 218 seats needed for one party to control the chamber.
Jessica Taylor, CPR’s U.S. Senate and governors editor, wrote in an update Approved Friday that the upper chamber “remains more than precarious for Democrats.”
“There is no room for error — and if President Joe Biden loses reelection, they will have already lost the majority, whether or not they lead in all the contested seats,” Taylor wrote.
Young voters
DelBene said during breakfast at a hotel in Washington, D.C., that voter turnout will be “critical” and that Democrats will particularly focus on younger voters turning out at the polls.
“Traditionally, younger voters haven’t gotten as much turnout,” she said. “So this is absolutely the highest priority.”
DelBene answered several questions about whether these younger voters would actually support Democratic candidates or Biden, given increasing protests on college campuses and concerns within the progressive wing about the rising civilian death toll from the ongoing war in Gaza.
The most significant issues for younger voters, DelBene said, are “ensuring that they will have economic opportunities in the future and that they will be able to have the same opportunities that their parents promised them will have the same rights and freedoms.” have like their parents.”
Candidates in purple districts should speak “authentically” to voters when asked about their stance on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, she said.
“My advice to candidates has always been, ‘It’s significant that you have an original voice and talk about what you would do and how you feel about issues.’ Because people can tell if someone has written a script and isn’t really talking about their feelings,” DelBene said. “And with such an important issue, I think it’s really important that people speak authentically about their positions and what they think needs to happen.”
