Kansas abortion vote emboldens Georgia Democrats

August 3, 2022

Also in today’s edition of Swing State Georgia:

• The Walker-Warnock debate saga, part 71.

• Herschel likes to spend money at Mar-a-Lago.

• The fetus becomes a tax deduction in Georgia.

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The resounding defeat on Tuesday of a Kansas ballot measure designed to erase that state’s abortion protections quickly got the attention of Georgia Democrats - who see it as a signal that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling which overturned the Roe v. Wade decision could fuel a turnout surge for Democrats in November.

“If they did it in Kansas, I know the Peach State can deliver,” said Georgia state Sen. Elena Parent, a DeKalb Democrat.

In the first major vote on abortion since the June decision, voters in Kansas - a reliably Republican state - rejected a ballot question that would have allowed the Republican-controlled legislature to adopt abortion restrictions.

“Anti-abortion zealots thought that if they gamed the Supreme Court and gerrymandered state legislatures, they could impose their regressive views on the majority of voters,” said Georgia state Rep. Josh McLaurin. “But Kansas proves that when you underestimate democracy, you lose.”

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In the coming weeks, watch how both parties try to focus their election message.

Polls in Georgia have repeatedly shown that the economy is the paramount concern for voters - and Republicans have tailored their message to emphasize that.

But the Kansas vote is a clear signal to Democrats that maybe Georgia’s new anti-abortion law could have the same energizing effect ahead of the November midterm.

Leading the charge on that has been Stacey Abrams, who has already promised to reverse the new ‘heartbeat’ law that bans abortions as early as six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant.

On the Republican side, Gov. Brian Kemp and GOP Senate nominee Herschel Walker both back strict abortion limits.

But they’ve focused their campaign messages on the nation’s uncertain economy, ground they hope favors Republicans.

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ABORTION AD. Stacey Abrams is out with a 30-second TV spot that criticizes the anti-abortion law that took effect last month. It might be the Democrat’s sharpest attack yet targeting Gov. Brian Kemp for championing the new limits.

The ad features a series of women speaking direct to camera while assailing the law, which bans most abortions as early as six weeks – before many women know they’re pregnant.

“It’s an attack on the women of Georgia,” said the first speaker. It closes with a montage of voices: “The only way to stop this attack on the women of Georgia is to stop Brian Kemp.”

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DEBATING DEBATES. Republican Senate hopeful Herschel Walker went on Fox News last night to declare he would participate in an Oct. 14 debate.

The problem is, it’s not one of the three debates that U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock has already accepted.