It’s officially midterm year, and in just 11 months, Democrats will finally get the opportunity to officially knock down the GOP’s slipping grip on its 219-214 majority in the House of Representatives and 53-47 majority in the Senate. But in a chilling twist of events, it appears the Dems are rejigging their virtues—and party voters are considering abortion as a lesser priority than before. Not that he shoulders the blame of this alone, but I have four words: Screw you, Ezra Klein.
Last September, Klein revealed he’s one of a growing collection of Dems who believe the party should be aiming to win more elections by embracing anti-abortion Democrats. (Which is ironic, considering the party actually holds quite the embarrassing track record with anti-abortion politics.) And according to new polling by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), abortion is also becoming less likely to change how Democrats swing their vote. Which is pretty scary, considering it’s a year that will send Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia to the polls to consider various ballot measures to protect—or further restrict—abortion! According to PRRI’s findings, which was initially reported by the Guardian, abortion remained relatively stagnant on the priority list for Republicans. Per the outlet:
In 2024, 55% of Democrats said abortion was important to their vote, according to polling from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). But in October of this year, just 36% of Democrats said the same. By contrast, abortion remained about as important to Republicans in both 2024 and 2025, PRRI found. PRRI’s findings mirror a September poll from the 19th and SurveyMonkey, which found that the voters who cared most about abortion are people who want to see it banned.
“We consistently find that Democrats are more concerned about the health of democracy,” Melissa Deckman, the CEO of PRRI, explained of the data, saying that while abortion was a top issue in previous elections, constituents have been increasingly worried about affordability and the economy instead.
But beyond the fact the Trump administration has made it literally impossible to ignore rising costs, severe tariffs, and inflation, it has also made every effort to further restrict abortion. Last July, Trump’s budget bill imposed a backdoor abortion ban by defunding Planned Parenthood; last September, the FDA launched an official investigation into the abortion pill mifepristone (which is safe, by the way!); and just before Christmas, the administration implemented the first national abortion ban, banning veterans and their families from abortion services. These are just a few examples.
2026 will mark the fourth year since Roe was killed by the Supreme Court, and as of now, 13 states have imposed a total abortion ban. As a result of these restrictions, the risk of maternal mortality has skyrocketed; infant mortality is on the rise; there are more reported instances of domestic violence; and pregnancy complications have gone from dangerous to deadly. And perhaps for those reasons, abortion access remains supported by both ends of the aisle. So maybe, just maybe, abandoning abortion access isn’t the answer to winning the midterms.
