Tamara Keith:
So, I have been reviewing ads that have been running in Virginia about abortion. And what you find is, I found, like, basically one Republican candidate who was proactively running on this 15-week abortion ban.
And I found more Democrats than I can count who were running, saying, look what Republicans want to do. Look at this Republican incumbent. They voted for a total ban. Now they want this 15-week ban.
So, Democrats clearly feel that this is an issue that they can run on. A lot of the Republican ads focus on crime. And so what — in a lot of ways this feels like a replay of the 2022 midterms messaging, but it’s also probably a preview of the 2024 presidential campaign messaging and all those congressional races.
I will just add, I am also watching Ohio, because this Issue 1 is a — would enshrine a right to abortion access in the Ohio Constitution. Ohio, it was a purple state, like, in 2004. It is a red state now. But this has been an animating issue in a number of red states.
This is a more proactive measure in support of abortion access than we have seen on — in other initiatives up to now. This is very much abortion the ballot in a red state. So, we’re further away from the Dobbs decision than we were the last time this was on the ballot. But — so this is something to watch, because, if Ohio ends up passing this Issue 1, then Democrats are going to be like, all right, we have got our message.
And, similarly, that’s what they will be watching for with Virginia.