Democrats seeking to retain control of Congress are doubling down on the need for abortion rights after Kansas voters resoundingly defeated a ballot measure that would have made it easier for state lawmakers to restrict the procedure.
The vote on Tuesday, in one of the country’s most conservative states, was the first real measure of voters’ willingness to cast ballots to support abortion rights in the wake of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, which reversed the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.
Democrats said the measure’s defeat by a 59 percent to 41 percent vote reflected polling in battleground House and Senate districts in recent months that has shown that backlash over the Supreme Court decision could improve their chances in the midterm elections and help counter the historical and economic factors working against them — especially as Republican nominees in competitive races have overwhelmingly said they supported the Dobbs ruling.
