What a contrast! On November 6, New York Times published a catastrophic poll for Joe Biden ahead of the 2024 presidential election. The president was clearly ahead of Donald Trump in five of the six states considered uncertain. A mixture of concern and excitement spread among the Democratic ranks and most commentators.
It only took twenty-four hours for these feelings to be replaced by ample euphoria. Tuesday, November 7 was an election day in several American states. She brought positive news for these same Democrats, reassuring them in particular about their ability to mobilize massively, an element that the polls ignore. In addition to the rejection of Trumpist excesses, it is abortion, once again, which serves as their standard.
Since the Supreme Court’s decision in June 2022 to remove voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion) as a constitutional right, referring the question to each state, Republicans have been wrung out in each election where this subject is raised. He also played an important role in the disappointment of the midterm elections, in November 2022, for the “Grand Old Party” (GOP).
On Tuesday, Ohio voters had to vote on two issues: abortion and marijuana. They opted for legalizing the possession and sale of this soft drug, making Ohio the twenty-fourth state to follow this path. But above all, they decided, by a comfortable majority, to include abortion as a right in the Ohio Constitution. A way to protect it against the attacks of the religious right.
This is another remarkable victory for defenders of reproductive rights, in a conservative state. It clearly signals that anger has not subsided among Democrats, but also non-members and independents, regarding the Supreme Court’s decision. Especially since the Republicans have not been able to adopt a compromise strategy on this issue. The appointment of Mike Johnson as the new speaker of the House of Representatives is hardly a reassuring indicator on this point, given his very radical commitment against abortion.
Joe Biden was delighted with the result in Ohio
In Ohio, as in other local referendums lost over the past year and a half (Kansas, Montana, etc.), conservative activists and Republican elected officials have knowingly conveyed lies about the consequences of a positive vote, by evoking by example the perspective of“abortions on demand” at all stages of pregnancy. In other states like Arizona, reproductive rights defenders want to try to obtain the organization of similar referendums.
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