A new national poll from Monmouth University shows one in three Americans rank abortion as a top issue in deciding how they’ll vote in the 2020 election.
Poll Director Patrick Murray says 44 percent of democrats are more likely to prioritize it compared to smaller numbers of Republicans and Independents.
“There’s definitely a majority support for abortion access,” he said. “I think the key difference here is now we’re seeing those on the pro-abortion side become much more activated on this issue being important in this election and matching or maybe even surpassing those on the anti-abortion side who have been always making this one of their top issues.”
Among Democrats who rate abortion as a very important issue in their vote, it’s a closer race between candidates compared to other recent polling, with 28 percent supporting Joe Biden, and 21 percent for Elizabeth Warren.
“And these voters still don’t know where all of these candidates are standing on this issue. So, if this mood grows within the democratic party, this could be one of the things that does in the end hurt Biden and help some of the other candidates,” Murray said.
Close to half of those polled say Republicans in Washington devote too much time to abortion issues.
“Versus only 34 percent who say the same about democratic politicians. This is an issue that could end up helping republicans solidify their base which is already pretty solid on the anti-abortion front, but could actually hurt them with moderate voters who are saying other issues are more important to us and you’re spending all of your time doing this,” he said. “Whether it will play out when we get to 2020, we don’t know.”