(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Where do Swing States Voters stand on Abortion? We are still collecting data from voters [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-06-25

The Supreme Court overturned the constitutional protection governing our bodies in its June 24, 2022 Dobbs ruling, nearly 50 years after Roe enshrined privacy rights into law. From the moment of the Dobbs leak, the subject of abortion was brought up by voters more and more in our Issues Survey that Hope Springs from Field PAC [dated website, to be updated in the Fall] volunteers use in our weekly canvasses. We’ve knocked on more than 20 Million doors now, and had detailed discussions with voters with almost 2 Million of them where voters are given several opportunities to raise issues of concern, including one specifically asking voters whether they had a single issue that would determine for whom they were voting. Most of these were conducted at their door, but super volunteers who are committed to our voter contact model will take their walk lists home and contact voters they missed at their door.

So we are collecting real time data on where voters are at in their thinking, especially about the Issues of the day. And, as news focused on Dobbs, voters increasingly voiced their concern about the loss of Reproductive Freedom as a constitutional right. Abortion rights became a winning issue even in red states such as Ohio (where voters overrode a six-week ban and changed their state constitution to guarantee access) and Kansas (where voters rejected an amendment restricting abortion rights). The 2024 election, however, was a mixed bag for abortion rights. Democrats campaigned heavily on the issue, spending more than half a billion dollars on ads, and notched some wins downballot. But Trump prevailed in the presidential race — even in battleground states where Arizona and Nevada voted to protect abortion access.

As a result of the 2024 loss, abortion is no longer the dominant topic for many Democratic officials. And while we have found the topic is not necessarily in the forefront of voter’s minds — kitchen table issues still dominate — Reproductive Rights remains a concern in many of the states where we are canvassing.

And, as we have returned to Virginia and began knocking on doors in New Jersey, we are still finding voters that name Reproductive Freedom as a critical issue at elevated levels.

We know have 3 years of data on Urgent Issues of Concern and Single Issue Voters derived from our Issues Surveys, which are entered into VAN (a shared Democratic database) and made available to Democratic candidates after our primaries conclude each cycle. As you can see from the table to the right, Reproductive Freedom remains a cogent issue with many voters in these Swing States. Perhaps more importantly, these are swing Congressional Districts in these states.

Besides the Economy, Reproductive Freedom remains the single issue that the most voters told us would determine their vote.

Hope Springs from Field PAC began knocking on doors again on March 1st. We target Democrats and unaffiliated voters with a systematic approach that reminds them not only that Democrats care, but Democrats are determined to deliver the best government possible to all Americans. The voters we talk to continue to tell us they come away more invested in governance and feel more favorably towards Democrats in general because of our approach.

Obviously, we rely on grassroots support, so if you support field/grassroots organizing, voter registration (and follow-up) and our efforts to protect our voters, we would certainly appreciate your support:

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/hopemobilization

Hope Springs from Field understands that volunteer to voter personal interactions are critical. Knocking on doors has repeatedly been found to be the most successful tactic to get voters to cast a ballot and that is the goal of what we do.

For the most part, Reproductive Rights remains more central to voter concerns than it was two years ago. This is not true in Ohio (which was when they had a referendum on the ballot), Pennsylvania or Wisconsin. The latter is probably because we have shifted our focus in Wisconsin to the western (and more conservative) side of the state. It may not be as central to Democratic office-holders, although it is still an issue in this year’s New Jersey and Virginia elections. The desire by MAGA and conservative org’s desire to dispel the recent emphasis on Reproductive Rights is probably why:

The organization [Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America] plans to door-knock in this year’s legislative races in Virginia, a purple state where Democratic lawmakers are working to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.

And the Trump administration seems determined to further degrade abortion rights through changes to hospital guidance on emergency abortions and the FDA review of data on mifepristone, the pill used in more than half of U.S. abortions.

Another challenge abortion rights activists are facing: They have exhausted their best opportunities for citizen-led ballot initiatives expanding abortion access. And in Missouri, Republican lawmakers have put forth a 2026 ballot measure seeking to reverse a vote that enshrined abortion access in the state constitution.

Even though Hope Springs won’t be engaged in Missouri (this is one of the constraints to being, for the moment, an all-volunteer organization), the data we are collecting remains critical to prevent backsliding in the states where we do canvass.

Here’s the thing: we all have different priorities each election cycle. But all this work blends together. Whether it is getting out the vote for our issues or our candidates, reminding voters that there are many reasons to vote this November will turn out more Democratic votes for Democrats. My issue (SCOTUS and rebalancing the courts to better reflect America) may not be your issue. But we are all working towards the same end.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/6/25/2329989/-Where-do-Swing-States-Voters-stand-on-Abortion-We-are-still-collecting-data-from-voters?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/

You are viewing proxied material from magical.fish. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.