Voting On The Economy Or On Abortion? [Infographic]

In the last three election cycles, American voters have named the economy as their biggest concern. While the country is approaching the 2022 midterms, another topic—abortion—is vying for the attention of voters as the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court seems very likely.

According to a recent poll by SSRS and CNN, the Democratic Party’s stance on abortion as well as women’s rights aligns with a higher share of the American public, potentially giving the party an advantage in the upcoming campaign. Yet, the all-powerful state of the economy remains squarely in the Republicans’ territory.

As of early May, 46% of Americans said Republican views on the economy were closest to their own opinions. Only 31% said this about Democrats. However, the gap was about as large when it came to abortion. 44% of respondents said they agreed with Democrats, while only 32% shared the Republican Party’s stance.

The issue of women’s rights was even more decisively in the Democrats’ favor, with around 50% more Americans concurring with the Democratic Party than the Republicans. With immigration, Republicans were several percentage points ahead of Democrats when it came to agreement on the issue, while the topic of voting rights and election integrity did not see a clear winner.

As inflation continues to soar, affecting the bottom line of millions of Americans, the economy can be expected to take up an even more prominent place in the 2022 election campaign. This is putting Democrats on the spot as their majority in the Senate is only razor-thin and their hold on the House is not much more significant. Close Senate races are expected in Nevada, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia, according to Axios. The latter race is seeing newly elected Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock running for a first full term after having won an out-of-turn election in 2020.

Democratic districts face more toss-ups

According to The Cook Political Report, 26 House races are rated as toss-ups, out of which 18 districts have a Democratic and only eight have a Republican incumbent. The picture is similar with leaning districts, as ten currently Democratic districts are merely leaning Democratic in election polls, compared with five Republican districts that are defending their status on a small margin. In addition, the midterms are seeing 36 states electing governors, who could turn out to be key figures in a post-Roe v. Wade world.

Further complicating Democratic gains on the issue of abortion is the fact that the president’s party has historically been much more likely to lose seats in the midterms than gain them. Together with President Joe Biden’s low approval rating, this is another factor that could hurt Democrats in 2022 despite successfully rallying voters around women’s rights.

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Charted by Statista