{"id":1453967,"date":"2024-01-30T02:40:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-30T07:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1453967"},"modified":"2024-01-30T02:40:00","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T07:40:00","slug":"the-two-biggest-issues-that-will-drive-voters-to-the-ballot-box-in-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/the-two-biggest-issues-that-will-drive-voters-to-the-ballot-box-in-2024\/1453967\/","title":{"rendered":"The Two Biggest Issues That Will Drive Voters To The Ballot Box In 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Two Biggest Issues That Will Drive Voters To The Ballot Box In 2024<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by Mark Tapscott via The Epoch Times<\/a> (emphasis ours),<\/em><\/p>\n

Entrepreneur Juan Pablo Segura looked like the perfect Republican candidate to win the newly-created Virginia State Senate District 31 that includes much of Loudoun County, home of the parents\u2019 rights movement that gained national attention.<\/p>\n

(Illustration by The Epoch Times, Getty Images)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

But when the votes were counted in the 2023 race that was among the most expensive campaigns ever in Virginia, more than 52 percent of the ballots went to his Democrat opponent, in a loss that shocked more than a few Republicans who thought it was their year.<\/p>\n

Democrats\u2019 warnings of Republican threats to abortion access were the factor that produced the Virginia surprise that could be repeated nationwide in 2024, according to Democratic strategists.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But a Republican campaign pollster sees a huge shift among a key voter group concerning the millions of illegal immigrants that have crossed into the United States since 2021 under President Joe Biden\u2019s open border policies.<\/p>\n

That shift could counterbalance the abortion issue.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Led by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Virginia Republicans had high hopes of gaining a state senate majority to match their control of the state house. Instead, not only did they fail to take over the senate, they also lost their majority in the Virginia House of Delegates.<\/p>\n

One GOP political expert who was not surprised by the Virginia outcome was Mitchell Brown, political strategy director for Cygnal, a Washington-based polling and analytics firm. He sees a lesson in the Segura loss for Republicans in the 2024 campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe issue with it is we have to remember that people aren\u2019t voting with their minds, it\u2019s an emotive response to things, so when you\u2019re asked what issue is top-of-the-mind, abortion doesn\u2019t come up among the things we\u2019re seeing nationally on sentiments,<\/strong>\u201d Mr. Brown told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if you come up to the Mainline in Philadelphia or Northern Virginia\u2019s suburbs or out in Michigan and scream about how someone is a MAGA extremist who wants to put women in prison for getting abortions, that issue is going to be very powerful for Democrats,\u201d Mr. Brown said.<\/p>\n

Pro-abortion protestors march in Philadelphia on July 4, 2022. (Hannah Beier\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI live in Northern Virginia in one of the swing districts, right on the edge of Fairfax County and into Loudoun County. Segura never said anything about abortion, but every Sunday when I was watching football, I kept hearing the refrain saying \u2018Juan Pablo Segura is the MAGA extremist. He and his friends want to put women in jail for getting abortions,\u2019\u201d Mr. Brown said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose ads were powerful, they got your attention and there is no way to differentiate it when every single Republican was getting hit like that, so it was tough<\/strong>,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Virginia outcome was not the only result in 2023 that convinced Democrats that abortion is their best issue for 2024.<\/p>\n

Ohio is a solidly red-trending state that gave former President Donald Trump more than 53 percent of its votes against President Joe Biden in 2020.<\/p>\n

But in a widely publicized citizen ballot initiative battle in 2023, Ohio voters decisively favored an amendment<\/a> to the state constitution that guarantees the right to abortion<\/strong>. The amendment provides that, \u201cEvery individual has a right to make and carry out one\u2019s own reproductive decisions \u2026 on contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one\u2019s own pregnancy, miscarriage care, and abortion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republican Virginia state Senate candidate Juan Pablo Segura speaks during a campaign rally in Leesburg, Va., on Nov. 5, 2023. (Alex Wong\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The results made Ohio the 13th state to strengthen access to abortions, either through state legislative action or a ballot initiative, since the Supreme Court\u2019s June 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson decision that nullified the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.<\/p>\n

Under Dobbs, each state is re-empowered to decide the abortion issue for its residents<\/strong>. Currently, 21 states either ban abortions outright, with certain exceptions, or permit the procedure up to a specified timeframe in a woman\u2019s pregnancy. In Oklahoma, for example, the procedure is illegal in almost all circumstances, whereas in Utah abortion is allowed anytime up to 18 weeks of pregnancy.<\/p>\n

By putting the issue front and center at the state level, the Supreme Court provided a powerful impetus on an issue that Democrats are now rapidly moving to make the centerpiece of their candidates\u2019 campaigns across the country.<\/p>\n

On Jan. 25, the White House Facebook page featured a video<\/a> of Vice President Kamala Harris, who is described by officials as the lead voice on the issue, extolling \u201creproductive freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Jan. 23, President Biden, Ms. Harris, and their spouses were featured speakers at the \u201cReproductive Freedom Campaign Rally\u201d at George Mason University in Virginia. Abortion will likely be featured prominently in Mr. Biden\u2019s re-election campaign and those of virtually every other Democrat on the 2024 ballot.<\/p>\n

(L\u2013R) First lady Jill Biden, President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff at a \u201dReproductive Freedom Campaign Rally<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Democratic campaign strategist Christy Setzer thinks this is a smart strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the Biden campaign, elevating abortion rights as a campaign issue is politically smart, a great contrast with Trump and Republican electeds, and the right thing to do,\u201d she told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the Dobbs decision, Americans have voted decisively to protect that right, winning not just Democrats, but the lion\u2019s share of independents and even some Republicans.<\/strong> When abortion rights are on the ballot, Democrats over-perform and women come out to vote in greater numbers to protect that right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Setzer emphasized there doesn\u2019t have to be a ballot initiative or other measure explicitly dealing with abortion to motivate Democratic voters to turn out in great numbers.<\/p>\n

Read the rest here…<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nMon, 01\/29\/2024 – 21:40<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bRead More<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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