While the economy remains the top priority for most, abortion has surpassed immigration as a key issue for many voters in swing states, and most trust Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump to handle it, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll taken earlier this month.
When asked what the number one issue was for voters, abortion jumped 3 percentage points since May among all respondents and 5 percentage points among women; 28% of voters said the economy is the top issue compared to 14% for abortion.
Among women, 24% said the economy was the top issue, compared with 22% for abortion.
The poll does not indicate which side of the abortion issue the voter lies when ranking it a priority. On Thursday, pro-life activist Lila Rose warned Trump to take a strong stance against abortion or risk losing voters after former President Donald Trump said he would vote against an amendment in his home state of Florida that would enshrine abortion rights in the state's constitution and overturn a current six-week abortion ban.
“I think any woman should be able to access an abortion if they need it," Audrey Herman, 19, told the New York Times.
"It’s the No. 1 reason why I feel so strongly about getting Kamala into the White House."
Contrary to conventional assumptions, abortions in the U.S. have actually increased in the United States the past two years.
According to the Monthly Abortion Provision Study, there were an estimated 1,037,000 abortions in 2023, the first full calendar year following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.
The poll was taken Aug. 6-15 among 1,973 registered voters in Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Nevada. It has a sampling error of +/- 2.5 percentage points.
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