New poll: Only 15% of voters view abortion as most important midterm election issue, economy still top concern
The economy is still top of mind for most midterm election voters
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Supreme Court overturned the landmark abortion ruling Roe v. Wade Friday and Democrats were quick to call on voters to protect pro-choice House representatives, but a new poll shows abortion is still less crucial to voters than the economy.
A USA Today/Suffolk University poll released Friday showed just under 15% of likely voters viewed abortion as the most important election issue headed into the November midterms. A majority of respondents, 62%, said abortion is an important issue but not the most important one.
Just 23% of voters viewed abortion as a more important election issue than the state of the economy, which 66% said was most important to their vote, according to the poll.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS ROE V. WADE IN LANDMARK OPINION
People protest about abortion, Friday, June 24, 2022, outside the Supreme Court in Washington. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
The Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe may not change voters' minds about voting in November, the poll suggests. Three out of four respondents to the poll said a SCOTUS decision overturning Roe would have no effect on their decision to vote in the November midterms, though 19% said it would make them more likely to head to the polls.
The poll showed a majority of Americans (61%) wanted federal protections of abortion access as guaranteed by Roe to stay in place while 28% said they agreed it should be overturned. But the country is more split about whether abortion should be regulated by the federal government or left to the states.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DEMOCRATS REACT SWIFTLY TO SCOTUS ROE V. WADE RULING, BUT WILL ABORTION UPEND THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS?
The Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health effectively leaves abortion regulations up to the states, which is what 40% of survey respondents said should happen, compared to 51% who said there should be a national abortion policy, according to the poll, which surveyed 1,000 registered voters and carried a sampling margin of error of plus or minus 3%.
READ THE SUPREME COURT RULING OVERTURNING ROE V. WADE
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}With inflation at record highs and gas prices climbing, many political analysts on the right and left predict issues like abortion, guns, voting rights and election integrity will take a back seat to pocket book concerns.
In a Fox News poll conducted June 10-13, a random sample of American likely voters ranked abortion a distant third in priority in their decisions about whom to send to Congress.
Just 10% selected abortion as the top election issue, behind guns (12%) and way behind inflation and high prices, which 41% said was the top issue in the November midterms.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Though abortion may not be top of mind for most voters heading into November, a majority of Americans trust Democrats more than Republicans to handle the issue. Fox News' poll shows 50% of respondents saying Democrats "would do a better job" on abortion than Republicans (42%).
Fox News' Victoria Balara contributed to this report