It’s a small sample size but 538’s Nate Silver looked at 58 Democrats and Republicans (29 of each) in close Congressional races, analyzed the issues they highlighted on their websites and found that more than half of Republicans highlight their abortion position while just 14% of Democrats note theirs. That seems strange considering that polls show the populace is about evenly divided on the issue. Probably, it means that people who vote on the abortion issue are more likely to be pro-life than pro-abortion and that is especially important in close races. But more generally it indicates that being ‘pro-choice’ is not politically advantageous. I wonder if this will be noted when Republicans, as they seem poised to do, make big gains in the November midterms? Or will political analysts say Republicans won despite being pro-life by downplaying social issues. Of course health care and economic issues dominate the political landscape, but in the multitude of close races Republicans need to win to capture the House of Representatives, pro-life social conservative voters will be decisive.
