Never has an incumbent president with a record of progress and economic prosperity been dogged by so many challenges heading into the heart of election season. Even before the special council report aimed at his competence and age was released earlier this month, polling showed widespread doubts about President Biden’s age and effectiveness.
As the president finally steps into campaign mode, he can try to convince voters they are wrong, or he can focus his energy on the one issue that seems guaranteed to galvanize critical voters for him despite those doubts — abortion rights and access.
Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision guaranteeing a federal right to abortion, no issue has been more consistently effective in turning out voters than abortion. That single issue has been responsible for Democratic victories in the most unlikely places, including Kentucky, Ohio, Kansas and Florida.
And it’s not just core Democratic voters who care about the issue. In every one of the state referendums on abortion, independent and moderate Republican voters have also stepped up to protect abortion rights. Young voters overwhelmingly support unfettered abortion access.
That’s exactly the coalition the president must win to secure a second term. What’s more, Democratic and independent women have said in polls conducted by my organization, All In Together, that abortion is a “dealbreaker” — they will only support a candidate who shares their views on it.
Abortion access has been so motivating for voters that activists are advancing state abortion referendums in nine states, including Montana, Florida, Nevada and Arizona. If on the ballot, the referendums have the potential to tip the scales for Democratic candidates in those states, which is critical to retaining the Democratic Senate majority and to regaining the House.
Support for abortion access should be an easy lay-up for the president with real potential to swing even a close election. Since 1980, women have outvoted men in every election. They are more likely to be registered and more likely to turn out to vote than men. And President Biden starts this election cycle with clear advantages among women — he has higher approval ratings with them than any other group of voters.
It’s hard to reconcile this reality with why the Biden campaign has mostly delegated the abortion discussion to Vice President Harris. She has been effective as she’s traveled the country highlighting the abortion issue to women’s groups and on college campuses. But Biden himself has been far less visible on the issue. The only major abortion-related event he has held this year was on what would have been the 51st anniversary of Roe when he spoke at a splashy event calling for its restoration.
Privately, many abortion rights activists complain that Biden seems unable to even say the word abortion. His comments at a recent New York City fundraiser have not helped. He told supporters that while he believed Roe was right, he didn’t want “abortion on demand.” That language infuriated many activists, not only because it’s a Republican talking point but because it’s mostly mythology. The fight for abortion rights is centered on saving women’s lives and restoring liberty and basic medical care. Abortion on-demand language profoundly muddies the waters.
The president has been honest before that as a Catholic he’s “not big on abortion” and yet, as his most important voters are suffering horrific medical crises in the wake of Roe, it should not be hard for the president to campaign on his support for access, personal liberty and the basic health care women deserve. Especially when the evidence is so strong that it could win him the election.
Beyond campaign speeches, there is more the president can do to show women voters he is listening and acting on this critical dealbreaker issue.
In early February, more than 150 members of Congress sent a letter to the president and the secretary of Health and Human Services calling for more urgent intervention to protect women in reproductive crisis from facing arrest and legal action like Ohio’s Brittany Watts did. Watts faced felony charges after suffering a miscarriage last year. That should be a no-brainer for the administration.
The president should be aggressively fighting legal overreach and persecution of women in every state where it’s happening. And he needs to forcefully spell out what he and a Democratic majority in Congress will do to restore abortion rights next year.
Many issues confront the president as he seeks a second term but his best hope for winning lies squarely with the voters most likely to turn out and most likely to support him. More than ever, women voters understand just how much was lost by the Dobbs v. Jackson, the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe, that Trump was responsible and that the only hope for restoring this basic freedom is Biden in the White House and a Democratic majority in Congress.
Women have proved time and time again how passionate they are about this and that they will invest time and energy in protecting women’s rights when given the chance. It’s time for the president to focus more of his time and energy on them too.
Lauren Leader is co-founder and CEO of All In Together, a nonprofit women’s civic education and leadership organization. She tweets @laurenleaderAIT.