More than 6 in 10 say it’s important for midterm candidates to support abortion access: poll

by Brad Dress - 06/27/22 4:07 PM ET

FILE - Demonstrators gather at the federal courthouse following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, June 24, 2022, in Austin, Texas. Some opponents of the decision are feeling despair over the historic rollback of the 1973 case Roe V. Wade legalizing abortion. — (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
FILE – Demonstrators gather at the federal courthouse following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, June 24, 2022, in Austin, Texas. Some opponents of the decision are feeling despair over the historic rollback of the 1973 case Roe V. Wade legalizing abortion. If a right so central to the overall fight for women’s equality can be revoked, they ask, what does it mean for the progress women have made in public life in the intervening 50 years? (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

More than 6 in 10 Americans say it’s important that candidates running for Congress in this year’s midterms support abortion access, according to a new Morning Consult-Politico poll published Monday.

About 62 percent of respondents to the survey said it was very important or somewhat important to support candidates in the 2022 elections who support abortion access. Another 29 percent said it was not too important or not important at all, while 9 percent had no opinion.

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, leaving abortion rights entirely up to the states for the first time in nearly 50 years. Around half of states are expected to ban or severely limit access to abortion in the wake of the ruling.

In the Morning Consult-Politico poll, 59 percent agreed abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared to 34 percent who said it should be illegal in all or most cases.

The midterm elections come amid myriad issues in the U.S. outside of abortion access, including skyrocketing inflation, supply chain disruptions and a string of deadly mass shootings. President Biden has seen his approval ratings sink precipitously over the economic crises.

High gas prices and a 40-year high inflation rate are campaign issues Republicans are seizing on ahead of November, knowing Americans are likely to blame the party in power when the economy is in turmoil.

Some 39 percent of Americans said they will support a candidate who agrees with their stance on abortion, even if they disagree with the candidate on other issues, according to the poll.

About 52 percent of Americans said they strongly support or somewhat support Congress taking up a bill that would codify Roe v. Wade into law, while 31 percent of Americans said they oppose it.

The Morning Consult-Politico poll was conducted from June 24 to June 25 among 2,005 registered voters. The margin of error is 2 percentage points.