It’s not going well for the bad guys:
In the 11 months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Republicans have underperformed in federal, judicial, statewide and local elections across the country.
Abortion isn’t the only factor driving their election woes, especially in local races. But a toxic party brand can easily trickle down-ballot, and the GOP so far hasn’t been able to navigate the voter backlash that began with a New York special election last August.
Jacksonville on Tuesday elected its second Democratic mayor in 30 years, with Donna Deegan upsetting Daniel Davis — a Republican endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis — in Florida’s largest city.
It was the first major election in Florida since DeSantis signed a six-week abortion ban — which a March poll found 75% of Florida residents oppose — in a private ceremony close to midnight last month.
In Colorado Springs, Colorado, independent businessman Yemi Mobolade was elected the first non-Republican mayor since 1979 — a “political earthquake” in a conservative stronghold, according to local media.
In Pennsylvania, Democrats held on to their one-seat state House majority by winning a special election in the Philadelphia suburbs, allowing them to block a GOP-backed referendum on limiting abortion rights.
Across 18 state legislative races held this year, including yesterday, Democrats have outperformed the 2020 presidential results by an average of six points, according to a Washington Post analysis.
In Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election last month, a liberal judge defeated the conservative candidate by 11 points in a race defined by abortion rights.House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is still dealing with the fallout from the GOP’s underperformance in the midterms, which gave him a tenuous four-seat majority.
The multi-layered landscape of elections in this country can’t be simplified to a single issue. But abortion is a proven electoral vulnerability for Republicans — and there’s a strong chance it gets worse.
Yep.
Ron DeSantis had made a pretty smart decision when he signed the 15 week abortion ban. I think it’s a terrible bill but it’s about the only way a Republican can even attempt to thread the needle. But it wasn’t enough for him and he just signed a sex week abortion ban. That was idiotic. And if he does manage to get the nomination he just killed himself in the general election.
These Republicans are tied up in knots over that issue and they don’t seem to be able to figure out what to do about it.