WASHINGTON — Democrats made abortion rights a key issue in this year’s election, but their focus did not prevent Republicans from winning the White House and Senate, and keeping control of the U.S. House. In Texas, President-elect Donald Trump won by a wider margin compared to four years ago, and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz won a third term comfortably despite his support for the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

What You Need To Know

  • Democrats at the top of the ticket and down the ballot campaigned extensively on abortion rights this year and put a spotlight on how strict anti-abortion laws have affected families, but ultimately Republicans won in the Lone Star State and across the country

  • Some political analysts say while abortion rights motivated voters to head to the polls, some other issues like the economy resonated more

  • Advocates like Ana Ramon, executive director of Annie's List, believe that abortion access still remains a driving issue and there will be efforts to engage voters through deeper conversations about how abortion rights are linked to broader issues of health care and economic impact

Democrats at the top of the ticket and down the ballot campaigned extensively on abortion rights this year. Texas Democrats like Senate candidate Rep. Colin Allred talked about how strict anti-abortion laws in Republican-led states have affected families. Women shared their harrowing personal stories about the restrictions, but ultimately Republicans won in the Lone Star State and across the country. 

“Abortion rights were salient in that it definitely brought voters to the polls, but I don’t think it was necessarily a slam dunk, that if you were worried about abortion rights, that you would be voting for Democrats all the way down the line,” said Alison Gash, professor of political science and department head at the University of Oregon. 

Gash points to how voters in states Trump won like Arizona and Nevada also approved new protections for abortion rights. Gash also says voters may have recognized that Trump and other Republicans said they wanted to keep abortion laws at the state level and that other issues like the economy resonated more with them.

Ana Ramon is the executive director of Annie’s List, a Texas-based organization that works to support and elect women who support abortion rights and other progressive policies. Ramon said she believes the issue is not going to go away. 

“I don’t think it’s going to stop driving people from wanting to stand up, not only to run but also to push against what could be the most extreme abortion legislation,” Ramon said. 

“We can’t allow it to go away, because women will die and families will suffer,” she continued.   

Ramon added that although voters will always consider multiple issues, she thinks the lack of abortion access will still motivate them to get to the polls.

“Learning from people on the ground and talking and having deeper conversations is absolutely something that we need to do, so make sure that people know abortion is, of course, a health care right, but it’s a family planning right, it’s an economic issue. It will affect our economy. It will affect our safety, the fact that we’re already seeing people not to choose residency here in the state, in a state that already has doctors and nurse shortages,” Ramon said.  

Abortion rights supporters in Texas were encouraged that voters in Amarillo rejected a city proposition that would have made it illegal to drive through city streets and highways to get an out-of-state abortion.