Alice Barrett has logged in at 2023-12-28 16:28:23
Alice Barrett has logged in at 2023-12-28 16:28:23

A new poll released Wednesday shows a majority of Georgians — particularly black voters — remain opposed to the state’s new restrictive abortion law.

Almost 62% opposed it overall, with around 54% saying they strongly opposed it. Black respondents were the most strongly opposed, with 86.4% of them saying they strongly disapproved of the law.

When asked how a candidate’s position on abortion would inform their decision-making at the ballot box, 47% of respondents — including 76% of black respondents — said they were more likely to support someone who protects access.

About 29% said they would vote for someone who would limit access, and about a fifth of voters polled said a candidate’s position on abortion doesn’t affect how they vote this fall.

The Georgia Recorder is one of several newsrooms that are part of the Georgia News Collaborative, which commissioned this survey from the School of Public and International Affairs Survey Research Center at the University of Georgia.

The nationwide poll polled 1,030 likely voters and includes a 3.1 percentage point margin of error.

The numbers help explain why the Georgia Democrats, who are running for state office, have placed access to abortion at the heart of their campaigns. It also sheds light on why Republican candidates, including some who helped create Georgia’s 2019 anti-abortion law, have remained largely silent on the issue.

But after the US Supreme Court Roe v. Wade in June, ending nearly 50 years of federal protections for abortion rights, the issue became one of the dominant factors in this year’s midterm elections.

Angela Brewington, a 57-year-old software engineer who lives in Henry County, said the state’s abortion law and this year’s permitless carry are her two main disputes with Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. She wants to vote for Democrat Stacey Abrams.

Brewington was not opposed to tougher abortion laws in Georgia. The state’s previous ban at around 20 weeks was too late for pregnancy, she said, referring to her niece, who was born at 22 weeks. But she argues that a 12-week ban would be more sensible than today’s restrictive law, which she says went too far.

“These are not my personal views on abortion, which choices I would make,” Brewington said. “But I don’t think the state has a right to a six-week suspension. At six weeks you hardly know you are even pregnant.”

Protesters flooded Liberty Plaza in May after the US Supreme Court’s bill to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder

“Something we must fight for”

Democrats hope anger over Georgia’s new law will mobilize their base and win over some swing voters. They bank on the tactics, even in races – like the foreign ministers’ competition – where the issue doesn’t seem directly connected.

Rep. Bee Nguyen, an Atlanta Democrat who is challenging Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, has tied abortion access to the right to vote.

“We cannot talk about voting rights without talking about reproductive rights. An attack on one is an attack on the other,” Nguyen said in a recent speech.

The issue has resonated with some campaign voters, although it remains to be seen whether the Democrats’ argument will have enough force to influence the outcome of the midterm elections when economic factors play a role.

Martha Zoller, a conservative activist and board member of the Georgia Life Alliance, a group that advocates for abortion restrictions, said she believes Democrats have been “trying to scare people” with incessant advertisements about Georgia’s recently introduced abortion law.

“I don’t think this issue is moving people in the way the left hoped it would,” she said.

But the Democrats haven’t just kept their eye on more independently minded voters. They hope the thorny issue will produce left-leaning Georgians who don’t normally engage in partisan politics.

Erica Senegal, who lives in Cobb County, says she’s always avoided talking about politics. Whatever opinion she had, she was content to silently express it with her voice.

But on a Saturday afternoon, the nurse found herself with Democratic nominee for attorney general Jen Jordan at a restaurant in Smyrna, participating in a roundtable discussion about access to abortion. Jordan has said she would not defend the state’s new abortion restrictions if elected.

Senegal afterwards said that it was their first participation in such an event, but probably not the last. She was excited about the Supreme Court’s decision and the implementation of Georgia’s tough anti-abortion law, saying it is “something we need to fight for”.

“Why do they take away a woman’s right to her body for any reason,” Senegal said.

State Senator Jen Jordan, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, speaks at a roundtable discussion on abortion access held at Rodney’s Jamaican Soul Restaurant in Smyrna last month. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder

GOP pushes abortion to the back burner

Voters said kitchen table issues such as the economy and inflation will still be front and center as they go to the polls in November.

Susan Hasel, a 36-year-old publications assistant in Walton County who took part in the survey, said she strongly supports Georgia’s new abortion restrictions and the narrow exceptions it allows, such as in the case of rape. She also favors candidates who say they will restrict access to abortion.

However, Hasel said she doesn’t think the issue of abortion will have a significant impact on the election.

“So close to Christmas it will be the economy. 100%,” she says. “I have friends who had to get a second job just to make ends meet, and they work in very well-paying companies.”

The dynamic explains why most Georgia Republicans don’t need to stress the issue, including Kemp, who has said little about implementing the state’s tough abortion law.

Almost immediately after the repeal of Roe v. Wade, a federal appeals court ruled that the state’s law – which has been embroiled in a lawsuit for three years – could go into effect.

What superficially seems like a simple campaign issue to Kemp was left out of his blunt speeches — even at a conservative Christian conference in Atlanta, where attendees were overjoyed that the law passed.

Experts say Republicans like Kemp are also likely to worry that the anti-abortion crackdown will crowd out some of their party’s more moderate voters.

One of those voters is Scott Davenport, who was gardening with his wife Lisa in his East Cobb neighborhood on a Saturday morning.

The couple have lived in the heart of the suburban area for more than 30 years, and when they first moved in, all of their neighbors were Republicans. Now, Davenport said, probably more than half are Democrats.

Davenport was also a lifelong Republican until President Donald Trump took office. Now, he said, he disagrees with the party’s “negativity” and what he described as a departure from the GOP’s core principles like restricted government — particularly on abortion, though he is an opponent.

“The Republican position has always been the right of the individual,” he said. “So you can be pro-choice and I can be pro-life. And that’s okay. You have the right to choose that. And so I don’t understand why they want more government in the bedroom but less government everywhere else.”

And to me, if they don’t have exceptions for rape and incest, the life of the mother, if they force 10-year-old girls who are raped to have babies, I mean, I’m out. That’s it for me So, no, they don’t have my vote,” he said.

The debate over whether or not there should be exceptions to abortion has also spread during the election campaign. Lawmakers included narrow exceptions in the 2019 bill, such as when the mother’s life is in danger.

But Republican nominee for the US Senate Herschel Walker has said he would support a total ban with no exceptions for rape, incest or a threat to the life of the mother.

Pam Calloway, 55, a Fayette County receptionist and survey respondent, is adamantly opposed to abortion and would support a total ban. She said she plans to vote for both Kemp and Walker.

As for Kemp with the heartbeat law, I totally support it 100%. I’m pro-life,” she said. “I’m glad this finally found its way.”

Governor Brian Kemp speaks at the Family Research Council’s 2022 Pray Vote Stand for Life Summit. He only briefly mentioned the state’s restrictive abortion law, which he signed into law in 2019. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder

“It will take much prayer”

Recent allegations against Senate candidate Herschel Walker have brought the issue back to the forefront of the campaign cycle. A recent report from The Daily Beast describes claims by an ex-girlfriend that Walker paid for her abortion in 2009.

Walker has adamantly denied the claims even as the news made national headlines.

Zoller said the allegations have reignited talk about abortion, but it’s too early to say if they will actually have an impact on Republican voters.

It’s certainly problematic,” she said. “I think there are Republicans who are wondering what they’re going to do. But I think when they finally get to the ballot box, they’re probably going to vote for who’s going to vote for their values, which I think will be Herschel Walker.”

Sarah Simcox, a 56-year-old kindergarten teacher in Forsyth County, said she struggles with her decision.

“If these things are true [about Walker], that’s awful,” Simcox said. “But I think politically he could be better [than Warnock]. …I struggle with it. It will take much prayer.”

But others, like Walton County’s Susan Hasel, are unfazed by the news.

“What he did in the past is in the past. leave it there Everyone has a past and nobody is perfect. And I don’t expect a candidate to be perfect,” said Hasel.

Capitol Beat reporter Rebecca Grapevine contributed to this story.

The Georgia News Collaborative represents organizations and individuals with a passion and ability to strengthen local news in Georgia. Members, including the Georgia Recorder, represent a variety of regions, media types and constituencies. The collaboration aims to strengthen local news in Georgia by sharing resources, providing training and collaborating on reporting projects.