With the Biden Administration and national Democratic candidates for office continuing to struggle to garner positive traction in the months, weeks leading up to the 2022 midterm elections, Democrats have shifted their playbook for the upcoming midterm elections and are focused on abortion.
Florida Democrats have noticeably highlighted abortion as the election-defining issue next month.
As soon as the Roe v. Wade draft opinion leaked that the SCOTUS could possibly overturn the landmark case that federally ensures abortion availability, Democrats hit the ground running campaigning on Republicans stripping away the right to an abortion.
Across the country, we have seen this issue forced into the debate, with US Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) accusing Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) of being a pro-life, "extremist." Now one of the state of Florida's most active voices for women, State Senator Lauren Book (D-32) has weighed in.
Senator Book in a Tweet foreshadowed that abortion would define the political landscape for the state of Florida very soon. She called Republicans, "nervous," in response to Democrats having, "5 amazing PRO-CHOICE frontline candidates ready to fight for our personal rights & freedoms."
Book then echoed the national talking point that Republicans will be, "strip abortion rights," away.
Florida Republicans are nervous. Democrats have 5 amazing PRO-CHOICE frontline candidates ready to fight for our personal rights & freedoms.
Roevember is coming, and these 5 women are ready to defeat GOP opponents who strip abortion rights from sexual assault survivors.
— Lauren Book (@LeaderBookFL) October 12, 2022
With Roe v. Wade now gone, abortion policy is now left up for individual states to decide upon, leaving the door open for Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to fully put an end to the practice of abortion in the state of Florida. Most commentators have predicted this as Florida already has one of the strictest abortion regulations, where they must be conducted within the first 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Book confirmed this fear when she Tweeted again today, "the GOP is preparing to completely ban abortions in our state." The senator added, "The only way to stop them is to elect more Democrats."
In pursuit of preserving abortion in Florida, Democrats like Book have cited disgusting anecdotes, like minors who were victims of rape and incest, not being able to receive medical attention in Florida. Gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist (D-FL) spoke with Florida Planned Parenthood Action today where a spokeswoman called Florida legislators, "extremists," who did not consider the exceptions to the previous pro-life bill approved by the governor.
Abortion is making its way back up the list for contested issues from its high point last Summer. Senator Book, US. Rep. Crist, and US. Rep. Val Demings are all running on platforms that make abortion the non-negotiable issue in 2022. Next month will be very telling of where the country is on the question that has not been answered for decades.
