The “Red Wave” that Republicans expected in the 2022 midterm elections never materialize, but the 2020 “Blue Wave” that Congressional Democrats thought would happen then appears to have come ashore two years late, thanks to the help of the abortion issue.
The Roe vs. Wade decision that came down from the U.S. Supreme Court in June crippled Republican hopes of a tsunami-style election night clobbering of Democrats.
Yes, Republicans won the majority in the House of Representatives by a slim margin but ceded control to Democrats in the U.S. Senate.
Feeling a huge sense of relief, and because abortion proved to be a winning issue for them in the recently concluded midterm election, Democrats like Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who have called the Supreme Court decision “repulsive” and “immoral,” are now poised to continue campaigning on a woman’s right to choose.
Rep. Wasserman Schultz, who is the top Democrat in Florida and the loudest voice of support for abortion, recently acknowledged that the Democratic game plan for 2024 will be to play off of the abortion gains made in 2022
“Abortion access was on the 2022 ballot, and it won nationwide. As attacks on our rights continue, we'll take that fight right to the 2024 ballot,” stated Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
Wasserman Schultz’s colleague and fellow Flordian, Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, recently told The Floridian that Republicans across the nation “missed the mark” on abortion this past election cycle.
Rep. Donalds believes that Republican lawmakers did not have a unified counter-message after the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling came down from the Supreme Court.
The 2022 Dobbs ruling overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
“I think that there were a lot of voters, for whatever the reasons, they were not linked in on what we were doing. I think that is not having an actual position as a conference on Dobbs actually was a problem for that. It was an election driver,” said Rep. Donalds.
“We should have sat down and had that conversation as members, to say, ‘hey, here is where we think we should be, let’s have that debate as members and figure out a position on it,” added Donalds. “You have to have a response for what is a very personal decision for a lot of women in this country. It is highly personal, and you have to have a response from a legislative capacity, and I think we missed the mark on that.”
House Republicans have announced that they will be holding the Biden administration and Democratic leadership accountable as soon as they gavel in their majority, but it they do not figure out a counter-message to the 2024 telegraphed abortion campaign Democrats will be mounting, the Republican majority in the House could be short-lived.
