Abortion rights won 56.1 to 45.1....a whopping 11% in a conservative state, in an August primary, on a very confusing ballot issue where "yes" meant "no" and "no" meant "yes".
The Kansas Supreme Court ruled that a women's right to abortion was guaranteed in the Kansas constitution. So when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that abortion was not protected on a federal level it went back to the states to make their own laws. The Kansas legislature had their hands tied because of the Kansas Supreme Court ruling years ago. So they put it on the ballot to have the Kansas state constitution allow for the legislature to make abortion laws (in other words, outlaw abortion). They had to put that to a vote. So they chose a time when only Republicans would show up for the polls....an August primary when everyone is on vacation during a midterm election when Biden is unpopular, in a red, red state. The Democratic governor wasn't in a primary (yes, Kansas like Kentucky and Louisiana have Dem govs), but there were lots of key Republican races. There simply was no reason for Dems to vote, except this ballot issue. They worded the ballot issue in such a confusing way that people would mistakenly vote for taking women's rights from them. They advertised/texted/called etc., telling voters to vote the wrong way...giving them the impression they were supporting abortion by voting yes. Polling of likely voters put the anti-abortionists in the lead through the weekend.
Why are Republicans crapping their pants this morning? HAHAHA
Trump won Kansas 56.1%-41.5% for Biden...15%!. Kansas is as red as Dorothy's ruby red shoes. Turnout for that election, if you remember, was the highest in the history of the U.S. Trump got 771K votes and Biden got 570K votes 1341K in total. In the 2018 primary election, 27% turned out to vote in a primary that mattered for both Dem top-of-the-ticket candidates and Republican ones, 488K. What the heck happened in Kansas???
909 thousand people voted!!! Not 488K like the last midterm primary with lots of close candidate races on both sides. Why did 421K more vote this time (nearly double!!!) because of ABORTION RIGHTS. And what happened, Republicans voted for women in greater numbers than expected (still lost with them), Independents voted for women and Democrats turned out. In the suburbs, those soccer moms voted like crazy. Young people voted. Hell, just about everyone voted. The primary turnout this year should have gone down by conventional wisdom but instead, it almost doubled.
So abortion will stay legal in Kansas unless they get a new supreme court.
But the real excitement and why it will lead the news is that the party in power LOSES midterms NEARLY ALL THE TIME because THEIR VOTERS DON'T TURN OUT. So what do we really, really, really need this year? We need an issue that turns us out. In 2020 it was Trump. In 2022 it's ABORTION. Politicians like Greg Abbott, who signed draconian abortion laws, should be pooping their pants this morning. Roe v. Wade woke a sleeping giant and that giant lives in red states and purple states....not just blue states. We thought this might be true, but now we know it's HUGE.
Understand these are primaries. There are no Democrat vs. Republican votes on the table. This was the first one during the primaries. And wowsa did we win.
So celebrate! It's been a great week. Chip legislation passed, burn pit legislation passed, and we may be able to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, and Zawahiri!