July 29, 2022 01:15 PM UTC

Bad News for Republicans on Issue Polling

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• by: Colorado Pols

Republican candidates for public office in Colorado have been saying for many months that the 2022 election is going to be all about gas prices, inflation, and crime. At least, they hope that’s what voters will be most worried about, because they absolutely do NOT want to have to talk about issues such as abortion rights and the rightward shift of the Supreme Court that could upend same-sex marriage, interracial marriage, and access to contraception.

But as Fox News reports, Republicans may need to meet voters where they actually are — and not where they wish they were. And that’s a problem for the GOP.

Democrats are leading in the tight midterm race with a 4% edge over the GOP on the generic congressional ballot, as voters rank abortion as a leading issue over inflation.

A new Suffolk University/USA Today poll shook up the midterms, after 44% of voters said that if the election were held today they would vote for a Democrat candidate, while 40% said they would vote for a Republican. About 16% still remain undecided.

Republicans have taken a hit over the past month, after a June poll from the university found Democrats and Republicans were evenly split on the generic congressional ballot with both parties receiving 40% of the vote.

While the economy remains most important to voters in the upcoming election — with 20% saying it is the most important issue — the poll revealed that many believe abortion trumps inflation as the most important issue this election cycle. [Pols emphasis] Nearly 16% of voters said abortion is the leading issue, with about 11% saying inflation, despite it hitting a 40-year high of 9.1% in June.

Voter polls almost always find that the top issue in any given period of time is “the economy,” regardless of the current state of said economy. This is understandable on a very basic level; “the economy” is often the first answer that pops into someone’s head when they are put on the spot by a canvasser.

The most important finding in this poll is how voters respond to questions about more specific issues. It is remarkable that 1 in 5 voters believe abortion is the most important issue this election cycle — even compared to inflation, which is a subject that is nearly impossible to avoid at the moment.

Here in Colorado, poll after poll and election after election have proven that this is a solidly pro-choice state. Voters support abortion rights no matter how Republicans try to frame the question. There is plenty of real-world evidence for this; multiple abortion-related ballot measures in Colorado have failed miserably over the last 10-15 years.

If these polling numbers cited by Fox News hold through the fall, it means big trouble for Republicans starting at the top of the ticket. Both GOP gubernatorial hopeful Hiedi Heidi Ganahl and Senate candidate Joe O’Dea express positions on abortion rights that do not match up with the majority of Colorado voters.