After Kansas vote, Dems say abortion will be decisive midterm issue, Republicans say not so fast

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Kansas decision on abortion protection ‘too soon:’ Conway

Former Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway weighed in on Kansas voters’ decision to protect abortion in the state’s constitution.

Democratic and Republican campaign committees remain at odds with how abortion will impact the upcoming midterm elections, just one day after a majority of Kansas voters rejected a constitutional amendment that would have given lawmakers in the state the ability to regulate abortion.

Kansas became the first state in the nation Tuesday to vote on an abortion-related issue since the Supreme Court's ruling to overturn federal protections for abortion granted under the 1973 landmark case Roe v. Wade. The outcome of that vote, which resulted in a failure to pass the Value Them Both amendment, now poses a question of whether the debate around abortion will turn voters out to the polls in November.

While Democrats suggest the protection of legal abortion is a driving force for voters, Republicans still say Americans are still focused on the economy as the elections rapidly approach.

"Last night, voters in a red state delivered a clear message to Republicans: come for our right to make our own health care decisions, and we will vote you down," Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) spokesperson Helen Kalla said in a statement following the vote in Kansas.

KANSAS ABORTION CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT REJECTED BY VOTERS

Voters cast their ballots at the West Evangelical Free Church in Wichita, Kansas, on Tuesday Aug. 2, 2022. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

"The blowout results in Kansas should be a wakeup call for the NRCC and their extreme anti-choice candidates across the country who want to allow states to ban abortion entirely," Kalla added. "Theirs is a deeply unpopular position that will backfire in battleground House districts, and we look forward to reminding voters of Republicans’ toxic agenda every day until November."

More than 900,000 Kansas residents took part in voting on the abortion amendment that was listed on Tuesday's ballot, with 58.8% of voters rejecting the amendment and 41.2% voting in favor of it. Turnout for the abortion vote could meet or even exceed turnout for the 2008 presidential race. 

Asked about the decision from Kansas voters and whether it is a signal for what may be to come in the midterm elections, Michael McAdams, communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), insisted in a statement to Fox News Digital that Democrats created an "economic mess" that voters will carry with them to the polls in November.

BIDEN TO SIGN SECON EXECUTIVE ORDER TO EXPAND ABORTION ACCESS

Pro-choice protesters gather outside the Supreme Court in Washington on June 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

"The economic mess Democrats created by ignoring their own economists and saddling Americans with record-high prices is the number one issue in every competitive district," McAdams said.

Among Americans surveyed in a recent Monmouth University Poll, abortion ranked second as the single most important issue for voters, following economic policy.

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are expected to take further executive action to protect abortion services when they hold the first meeting of the interagency Task Force on Reproductive Health Care Access on Wednesday.

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on reproductive rights as Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra listen at the White House on July 8, 2022. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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At the meeting, Biden will issue and sign a second executive order that will help allow women to receive abortions even if abortion is illegal in their state, a senior administration official said.

The new executive order continues to build on actions the Biden-Harris administration has taken to protect reproductive health care services and access to those services since the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.