Democrats have seized on the abortion issue to boost their chances in November but a new poll shows that for most voters, nothing is more important than the economy.
The Cygnal survey of likely voters in 15 battleground states conducted for the Republican State Leadership Committee found that the top issues for most voters were inflation, the economy and jobs at a combined 56%, followed by crime at 9%, and then abortion at 8%.
“Abortion isn’t a top issue for voters — not even close,” RSLC president Dee Duncan said. “While abortion is an issue people care about, the data makes clear that it is not among the top issues that will drive voting behavior in November. Instead, this election will remain about Biden’s failing economy.”
The poll was conducted June 24-26, immediately after the Supreme Court released its opinion Friday in Dobbs v. Jackson that overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.
Since the Dobbs decision, Democrats have sought to reframe the election as a referendum on abortion, while Republicans have focused on soaring inflation and the faltering economy under President Biden.
“We were confident enough in our theory of the case that we commissioned Cygnal to put a battleground poll in the field beginning Saturday morning – when the intensity surrounding the Dobbs ruling was at its peak – to see if anything changed from a similar January Survey,” Mr. Duncan said.
“The results affirm that state Republicans remain on offense this year, as they will continue to run campaigns focused on serving as the counterweight to President Biden’s failing economic policies that have created record-high inflation and gas prices,” he said.
Asked about candidates, 30% said that a candidate’s position on abortion is “the absolute most important issue to them,” while 65% said other issues were a higher priority. About 21% of independent voters said abortion was number one when choosing whom to support.
Less than 40% of likely voters said they would be unwilling to vote for a candidate whose views differ from theirs on abortion.
Our new national battleground poll confirms that this election is still about the economy, stupid.
— Republican State Leadership Committee (@RSLC) June 29, 2022
While Dems have given us 40-year high inflation & record gas prices, voters across the country support GOP policies to get the economy back on track.https://t.co/0sU5XZ0KIV
The poll also showed Mr. Biden’s favorability rating is still underwater at 41% favorable versus 57% unfavorable.
Democrats seeking to avoid an anticipated red-wave wipeout in November have used the fall of Roe as a rallying cry for their base.
Mr. Biden urged voters to “make their voices heard” by electing pro-choice candidates in November.
“This fall, Roe is on the ballot. Personal freedoms are on the ballot,” Mr. Biden said.
A Gallup poll released June 6, before the Supreme Court ruling but after the draft opinion was leaked, found that 27% of registered voters said that a candidate “must share their views on abortion to receive their vote, which is the highest measured in any election year.”
“At the other end of the spectrum, 16% say abortion will not be a major issue in their vote, nine percentage points lower than Gallup has measured in any prior election year,” said the pollsters.
Mr. Duncan said that the political environment is “still a disaster for state Democrats.”
“Republicans have a commanding lead on what is far and away the most important issue to voters, and the issues state Democrats are trying to exploit to distract from Biden’s failing economy are not going to be salient enough to save them come November,” he said.
The Cygnal poll has a margin of error of +/-2.19%. Likely voters were surveyed in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Maine, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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