Abortion has passed inflation to become the top issue in the presidential election for women younger than 30 since Vice President Kamala Harris replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket, according to results released Friday of a survey of female voters by KFF.
About 2 in 5 in the group of young voters said abortion was their top concern in the recent survey, compared with 1 in 5 who ranked it most important in the same survey in the spring.
In the earlier edition, inflation was the top concern for younger voters, as it was for women voters of all ages. Inflation remained the top concern for women in each age group over 30 and women overall. Women overall ranked abortion as their No. 3 concern, after inflation and threats to democracy, but ahead of immigration.
KFF, a health policy research, polling and news organization, surveyed 678 female voters from Sept. 12 through Oct. 1. Most of them were participants in an earlier wave of the same poll, conducted in May and June. The follow-up survey group was supplemented with 29 Black women to ensure an adequate sample size of that group. The sampling error was plus or minus 5 points, with larger ranges for subgroups of voters.
Abortion has long been a major issue, but the landscape shifted in 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court, powered by three justices nominated by Harris' current opponent, former President Donald Trump, overturned Roe v. Wade and opened the door for states to impose abortion bans.
Most Republican-controlled states are now enforcing such bans, including 13 that bar abortions at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions, and four with bans that kick in after about the first six weeks of pregnancy — before women often realize they're pregnant.
Harris has been making abortion access a centerpiece of her campaign.
In addition to the presidential race, a number of other elections this year could impact the abortion landscape, including in nine states where there are ballot measures that would protect the right to abortion in the state constitution.
Races for Congress — as well as state offices such as governor, legislators, state supreme court justices and attorneys general — could also help determine abortion policy moving ahead.
Overall, about two-thirds of women said the election will have a major impact on abortion access, up from just over half in the initial survey.
Most women said it is likely Trump would sign a federal law banning abortions after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy if Congress were to pass such a measure. Just as the survey period ended, Trump said he would veto an abortion ban if one reached his desk.
The majority said they believe Harris would sign a law protecting access to abortion nationwide if Congress were to pass that.
There's a deep partisan split over which candidate would be better on abortion access. Most women said they preferred Harris, including 90% of Democrats and fewer than one-fifth of Republicans. The survey found similar dividing lines around which candidate would be better for birth control access and in vitro fertilization.
The survey found that Republican women are slightly less hopeful and enthusiastic, and more anxious and frustrated, about the presidential election than they were earlier this year. By contrast, Democratic women are far more hopeful and enthusiastic, though their anxiousness has also risen.
Like in the spring, a little over half of GOP women are satisfied with their presidential choices. But satisfaction among Democratic women shot up from just over one-third to three-quarters.
FILE - In this combination image, Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks during a debate, Oct. 7, 2020, in Salt Lake City, left, and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a debate, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - Abortion-rights protesters cheer at a rally outside the state capitol in Lansing, Mich., June 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
Back-to-back hurricanes have jumbled the presidential campaign schedules of Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump.
Trump and Harris have separately gone to Georgia to assess hurricane damage and pledge support. Harris also has visited North Carolina, requiring the candidates to cancel campaign events elsewhere and use up time that is a precious resource in the final weeks before any election. Both Georgia and North Carolina are political battlegrounds.
Meanwhile, a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that a solid majority of Hispanic women have a positive opinion of Harris and a negative view of Trump. Hispanic men are more divided on both candidates.
Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
Here’s the latest:
Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is firing back at Donald Trump in Michigan for insulting Detroit while campaigning in the city.
Trump said Thursday that if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the White House, “The whole country will be like — you want to know the truth? It’ll be like Detroit.”
Walz was to use a campaign event in nearby Warren, Michigan, to attack Trump’s record in the battleground state, according to prepared remarks shared by the campaign.
“Maybe if he ever spent any time in the Midwest, he’d know Detroit is experiencing a great American comeback. Crime is down. The city is growing. Factories are opening again,” he was to say. "But all these guys know about manufacturing is how to manufacture bulls—-.”
Walz plans to quote Trump campaigning in the state in 2016 promising that they “won’t lose one” automotive plant if he’s elected. ”I guess, technically, that wasn’t a lie — because he lost 6 of them across the country,” Walz was to say.
Walz also plans to reassure the auto-heavy state that Harris was not trying to ban gas-powered vehicles.
Vice President Kamala Harris will participate in a town hall hosted by Charlamagne tha God on Tuesday, the influential radio host announced on his show Friday.
The appearance comes as Harris’ campaign is looking to shore up support among Black men for her candidacy.
The announcement comes a day after former President Barack Obama delivered a forceful call for Black men to support Harris during a campaign swing in Pennsylvania.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says, “I don’t know if any of us do everything right,” as he tried to draw some distance between the Democratic ticket and President Joe Biden.
Speaking to ABC’s "Good Morning America,” Walz was asked whether he and Vice President Kamala Harris would have done anything different over the last four years.
“Look, I don’t know if any of us do everything right,” he replied. “But I can tell you he’s done everything in the best interests of the American public.”
Harris drew fire from former President Donald Trump when she told “The View” earlier this week that she couldn’t think of a difference with Biden — before saying she would put a Republican in her Cabinet if elected.
Walz also used the interview to try to walk back his call at a fundraiser this week to eliminate the electoral college. Harris’ campaign quickly stated it doesn't support such a move and Walz told ABC, “My position is the campaign’s position.”
Republican vice president nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks during a campaign event in Greensboro, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks to the crowd during an early voting rally at Palo Verde High School in Tucson, Ariz., Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (Kelly Presnell/Arizona Daily Star via AP)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris poses for a photo with a supporter after speaking at a campaign event Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, on the Gila River Indian Community reservation in Chandler, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a meeting of the Detroit Economic Club, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
