https://wsj.com/articles/dont-believe-the-hype-about-abortion-po…
There’s a tendency in politics to ascribe success and failure to one thing when it’s really more complicated. That has been the case with most coverage of last week’s elections. “Abortion issues burn GOP” screamed ABC News. “Democrats see big wins” shouted Roll Call, which said “access to abortion” was “front and center.”
Vox’s Rachel Cohen described the results in Virginia and elsewhere as “a resounding victory for Democrats and abortion rights supporters.” But is holding a 21-19 majority in the Senate and a 51-49 majority in the House really a resounding victory?
I think not. Virginia is a blue state that Mr. Biden carried 54% to 44% in 2020. Last week Republicans won in seven House districts Mr. Biden carried in 2020 by up to 10 points and four Senate districts he won by up to 9 points. Democrats didn’t flip a single district Donald Trump took. These margins don’t fit with the notion that abortion draws large numbers of independents and Republicans to vote for Democratic candidates.
Two factors probably had a bigger effect than abortion. The commonwealth was redistricted before the election. That benefited Democrats last week, according to Sean Trende, a senior election analyst at RealClearPolitics. Since Virginia is blue, the redistricting resulted in more solidly Democratic districts than solidly Republican ones. Mr. Trende was one of the special masters appointed by the Virginia Supreme Court to draw the lines.
@ISIDEWITH6mos6MO
Do you think the media accurately represents the complexity of issues like abortion, or oversimplifies them to influence public opinion?
@9H3D9DM6mos6MO
The media definitely oversimplifies abortion to influence public opinion.
@9H3B6W46mos6MO
It over simplifies it there is a lot more that people should know and think about when it comes to this issue.
@9H3DM7ZWomen’s Equality6mos6MO
abortions are something that everyone should have an opinion on.
@9H3BWG86mos6MO
I don't really care, but I think people should stick to what they believe and that abortion should be pro-choice because it's their body and they can do whatever they want unless it has something to do with religion.
@ISIDEWITH6mos6MO
Should an issue like abortion have the power to overshadow other important topics during elections, and why might this concern you?
@yesrunIndependent6mos6MO
Certain issues are more important to some voters than others. Abortion itself shouldn't completely overshadow everything, as it is important to consider all issues to educate the electorate, but abortion should be a topic widely covered during elections, especially considering how divided our elected officials are on the matter.
@9H39QD8Peace and Freedom6mos6MO
I think that currently in our time, this is a huge problem. This is taking away women's rights, which we only started getting about 100 years ago. It should not be up to the government or any other person for that matter. It should be up to the one who has the uterus that wants an abortion.
@9H39LFKRepublican6mos6MO
If bacteria is considered life on other planets then a heartbeat should be considered life on earth
@9H39GMX6mos6MO
I would want to know what our presidents want so I know which one to vote for.
