Biden taps Democrats’ abortion fury with midterm wipeout looming
WASHINGTON » White House officials are seizing the political opportunity in Democrats’ doomsday scenario, the end of nationwide abortion rights, to try to salvage a midterm election thought to be all but lost for President Joe Biden’s party.
An expected Supreme Court decision overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision next month will give Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris the chance to convince abortion rights supporters that voting is the best way to channel their frustration, one Biden adviser said.
It’s a message the White House believes will resonate with suburban women, minorities and young voters, whose support could be key to staving off a loss of Democrats’ House and Senate majorities, the adviser said. The person asked not to be identified discussing internal strategy.
Harris, the highestranking woman to ever hold federal elected office, demonstrated in a fiery, nine-minute speech last week how Democrats will sharpen their attacks on Republicans in the months ahead.
In her remarks to EMILY’s List, a group that advocates for the election of women candidates who support abortion rights, she warned of a “direct assault on freedom” and Americans’ fundamental rights by Republicans, positioning herself as Democrats’ standard-bearer on the issue.
“How dare they?” she said of Republicans who support overturning Roe. “How dare they tell a woman what she can do and cannot do with her own body?”
Top Biden advisers say that since the leak of the court’s draft Roe decision, they have seen a surge in engagement, anger and enthusiasm from their base voters. Polls have previously shown Republicans more eager to vote in November, following relentless attacks on Biden and his party over inflation, immigration, crime and the pandemic.
But with fresh surveys showing broad support among women and young people for abortion rights, the draft ruling could “be a jolt out of complacency and malaise” for key segments of the electorate, said Democratic pollster Anna Greenberg, whose current clients include vulnerable Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.
Democrats raised $12 million in the day after news broke about the draft opinion, according to ActBlue, which processes online donations for Democratic-aligned candidates and groups.
So far, Harris has appeared more comfortable attacking Republicans for their abortion positions than Biden himself.
Asked about Democrats’ next steps on the matter following a speech on the economy, Biden hesitated, joking “no one asked about deficits, huh?” before reiterating that the ruling “is about a lot more than abortion.”
Biden, a devout Catholic, has in the past been uncomfortable with his party’s more progressive stances on abortion. Until last week, he had not used the word “abortion” publicly as president.