9 Aug 2023 8:08 pm
"As Ohio goes, so goes the country."
Since 1896, the Buckeye state has picked the commander-in-chief 28 out of 30 times – a frequency unmatched by any other state in the union.
We had a single issue of the ballot yesterday. Republicans tried to make it difficult to put abortion rights into Ohio's constitution. They were handed their asses. Keep trying to interfere with a woman's right to family planning. It will be your demise. You have been warned.
Ohio Vote Is Another Warning to GOP on Abortion (msn.com)
Even in red-leaning states, support for abortion rights is again proving to be a potent electoral force.That was the message of Tuesday’s vote in Ohio, where voters rejected a ballot measure that would have made it harder to add abortion rights to the state’s constitution.The victory for abortion-rights groups, which follows similar wins in Kansas and Michigan, is likely to encourage abortion-rights advocates to put the issue on ballots in more states next year and beyond. Such moves could boost Democratic turnout at a time when many party leaders are worried about low enthusiasm for re-electing President Biden because of his age and weak job-approval ratings.
Republicans likely will have to continue grappling with how much to respond to their conservative base on the issue given that efforts to restrict abortion appear to alienate many moderate and independent voters, particularly in the suburbs.
Kimberly Inez McGuire, executive director of URGE, an abortion-rights group, said Issue 1 was “a cynical attempt to sabotage the power of the people to secure abortion access and they failed.” Abortion-rights groups have prevailed in six ballot measures since the overturning of Roe v. Wade last June.
In a warning sign for Republicans nationally, the Ohio results signaled that support for abortion rights can drive voter turnout. The defeat of Issue 1, by a landslide 14 percentage points, came as more than 3 million voters cast ballots. It was a large turnout for a summertime, off-year election, and substantially higher than the state’s most recent primary election, in May 2022.
Polling across the country show strong support for abortion rights. Opponents of the procedure said that in the lead-up to the November vote that their stance is firm.
"We are prepared to die on this hill."
They just might.