- GOP officials are concerned that the repeal of Roe v.
- They fear the ruling could divert attention from the economy and inflation, issues that Biden polls little.
- Most Americans support legal abortion in some way. A GOP strategist said it is a “lost issue for Republicans.”
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Although Republicans publicly celebrate the annulment of Roe v. Wade, some are privately concerned that the timing could negatively affect the November legislatures.
Some Republicans fear the abortion ruling could give Democrats ammunition to attack them and mobilize voters, Politico reported, based on interviews with more than a dozen Republican strategists and officials.
“This is not a conversation we want to have,” Republican strategist John Thomas told Politico. “We want to have a conversation about the economy. We want to have a conversation about Joe Biden, about almost anything other than Roe. This is a lost topic for Republicans.”
The historic Supreme Court ruling on Friday overturned a nearly 50-year precedent that legalized abortion nationwide.
While overturning Roe has been a key ambition for conservatives for decades, most Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or certain circumstances, according to national Pew and Gallup polls.
Some Republicans fear the ruling could divert attention from the economy and inflation, which had previously been a major problem for voters.
A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll found that voters largely disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy and inflation.
“Everything was going our way. Gas is above $ 5. Inflation is a giant problem,” a former Republican congressman, who was granted anonymity for speaking out, told Politico.
“The only thing [Democrats] What they have achieved is the issue of Roe, which is what, 40 years of established law that will change that will cause some social dismay, “he said.” And can they turn it into some participation? I think the answer is probably “Yes.”
“Maybe instead of losing 45 seats, they lose 30,” the congressman said. At the very least, “there will be a few seats that Republicans would have won without [the abortion rights decision]and maybe not win them now. “
Former President Donald Trump has been widely credited with the ruling on abortion because he appointed three Conservative judges during his presidency.
However, it has even been reported that Trump said in private that he feared overthrowing Roe would be “bad for Republicans.”
“You go to any restaurant in America, and no one talks about it”
Participants hold signs during the Women’s March on the U.S. Supreme Court. Leigh Vogel / Getty Images for Women’s March Inc
Democratic candidates from several key states have said they plan to make the right to abortion a key focus of their campaigns, The New York Times reported.
While abortion has historically not been a major mobilization issue for voters, polls suggest it will now play a more important role than in the past.
Some fear that Biden’s party could increase the votes of young people and women in the suburbs, with whom they had been advancing recently.
However, others have suggested that abortion is even less important for average voters compared to current economic problems.
“You go to any restaurant in America, and no one talks about it,” Dave Carney, a Republican national strategist at Politico, said.
“That’s not what drives the conversation. Real people, working people, people who vote, talk about the president’s incompetence, and then they go on the list of six or seven things.”
These problems include rising commodity prices and the recent shortage of infant formula.
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