Originally Posted by James Lacey
https://www.npr.org/sections/2022-live-primary-election-race-results/2022/08/02/1108929419/kansas-primary-election-results
Voters in Kansas rejected a proposed state constitutional amendment that would have said there was no right to an abortion in the state. The amendment could have opened the door to more abortion restrictions in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
If this can happen in red-state Kansas, it can occur in any state of the union. Voters rejected the proposal in a huge double-digit loss for supporters of the amendment. It looks like about 20% of GOP voters rejected the amendment, and there was a substantial Democratic turnout. Like I've said, I think the GOP failed to entirely grasp the consequences of overturning Roe v. Wade. Of course, there will be lots of back-and-forth over what this portends for the mid-term elections, but it sure doesn't look good for the GOP. State's rights indeed.
Hi James:
There were some good articles on this yesterday. In summary, the majority of voters in Kansas do not want a total ban, so some pro-life types voted no. These folks do not want unfettered abortion either. They want abortion with reasonable restrictions and reasonable exceptions.
It will be interesting to see what the various state legislatures can craft to address the will of the people. Not sure if your last line is mocking, disdainful, or something else, but the Kansas vote demonstrates to me that handling this issue at the state level is quite possibly a blessing if the goal is reasonable, but not unrestricted abortion rights.
I think that this issue hurts the GOP short term, for all the reasons you note, but I still see a big R win in November, because of the economy. We'll see! J