Townhall – Poll Offers What Could Be Valuable Lesson for Republicans on Abortion in 2024

Abortion has been something of a messy issue for Republicans since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade with last year’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision. While Republicans are divided on how much to involve the federal government, Democrats are united on supporting abortion up until birth for any reason without legal limit, at least when it comes to those in elected office. One of the key takeaways of the latest Cygnal poll points to how 70 percent of registered voters want some sort of restrictions on abortion. Just 17.4 percent support abortion being legal up until birth, though that includes 30 percent of Democratic respondents.

The abortion issue was just one of many aspects discussed in the poll, which also looked to a hypothetical matchup between former and potentially future President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. The latter leads ever so slightly, with 45.46 percent support compared to Trump’s 44.3 percent. The amount of undecided voters is at 10.1 percent. Another takeaway of the poll, however, points to Trump leading among Independent voters. 

Nevertheless, Trump may be the Republican Party’s best chance, as Biden has a more sizable lead against a Republican other than Trump, leading with 42.7 percent support to the unnamed candidate’s 38.2 percent. Many more, at 19.1 percent, are undecided.

For the abortion question, respondents were given five options to choose from, other than the “unsure” option. A plurality, at 21 percent, say that abortion “should be limited after 15 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has proposed a federal bill with such a gestational limit, when unborn children can feel pain and at which point the procedure becomes increasingly dangerous for the woman.

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In a statement for Townhall, Pollster and Director of Political Strategy Mitch Brown highlighted key issues about how to frame the abortion issue. 

“The media discussion about abortion has become untethered from the reality of what people actually think. The pundit class and Democrats say that Republicans are extreme for passing heartbeat laws. However, that is not extreme; that is actually closer to common ground,” he said. “The vast majority of voters, more than 70 percent, say they want to see some form of abortion restrictions. If Republicans want to gain ground and shift the narrative about abortion, they need to communicate just how extreme Democrats are on the issue, especially when a staggering 30 percent of Democrats say they support abortion up to birth.”

Read the full article written by Rebecca Downs on Townhall: https://townhall.com/tipsheet/rebeccadowns/2023/09/18/cygnal-poll-n2628456