Health Care

After Dobbs decision, Dems leaned heavily on abortion messaging

Democratic candidates for governor relied especially heavily on abortion rights.
A young girl holds up a sign that reads Abortion is Health Care as she watches North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper veto legislation banning most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy at a rally in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, May 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)

Democratic candidates running for state and federal office in the 2022 midterm elections spent millions of dollars airing television advertisements focused on abortion rights and the threat to reproductive access in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision striking down Roe v. Wade.

A new report from AdImpact, a nonpartisan firm that tracks political advertising spending, found Democratic candidates mentioned abortion rights in their advertising more than any other issue — a 500% increase over the number of times Democrats mentioned abortion rights during the 2020 presidential election.

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