Press Release California
Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Responds to Shift of Power in U.S. House of Representatives
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, November 16, 2022
Contact: [email protected]
NARAL Pro-Choice America Responds to Shift of Power in U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC — Today, anti-choice Republicans narrowly regained power in the U.S. House of Representatives by a slim margin after voters across the country cast their ballots in support of candidates they knew they could trust to champion reproductive freedom—blocking the predicted “red wave,” and preserving Democratic control of the U.S. Senate.
NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju released the following statement:
“For months, Republicans have run away from their records on abortion and tried to conceal their hostility towards reproductive freedom. This razor-thin margin—which bucks the long-held common wisdom of midterms—reinforces that Americans don’t want the GOP’s extremist agenda. Now, it is our job to ensure their voices are heard. We’ll be here to hold the GOP accountable and set up even bigger Democratic wins in 2024.”
NARAL Pro-Choice America recently released new post-election polling, conducted by Impact Research, that affirmed the central role that abortion played in the midterm elections. This research captured insights from voters in the key battleground states of Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin. Not only was abortion at the top of voters’ minds as they voted in the midterms, it was the dominant reason that people who voted for Democrats decided to do so. Across battleground states, 45% of voters say that abortion played a larger role in their voting decisions than it had in past elections, including 64% of voters who voted for a Democrat for Senate and/or governor this year, 52% of Black voters, and 51% of voters 18-34.
This election cycle, NARAL harnessed the energy of voters across the country who are tired of seeing their rights trampled upon by extremist Republicans. We tapped our members to fight back and organize their communities, including by joining with the millions of voters who haven’t been activated by this issue before, but are now angry and ready to hold anti-choice lawmakers accountable. Our program focused on deep field investments in phone banking, door knocking, youth organizing, and canvassing, along with a robust communications campaign to support endorsed candidates and ballot initiatives in Pennsylvania, Georgia, California, Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada.
Key components of our midterm campaign include:
- Harnessing the full power of our 4 million members to mobilize their communities through traditional organizing tactics. In total, we knocked on over 330,000 doors, made nearly 707,000 calls, sent over 868,000 texts, and filled over 4,860 volunteer shifts.
- Continuing to broaden the impact of our cutting-edge research into voter sentiment on abortion, including our pioneering freedom-centered messaging, by training candidates, volunteers, and activists to speak to their communities in ways we know align with their values and move them to act on their beliefs.
- Rolling out a pilot program in Michigan with 14 organizers working on seven four-year college campuses and over 20 community college campuses to enroll voters and activate over 721 volunteers.
- Endorsing candidates in over 200 races nationwide for federal and state offices.
- NARAL, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and EMILY’s List announced a partnership in May to collectively spend a historic $150 million on the 2022 midterms to elect reproductive freedom champions up and down the ballot across the country.
###
For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—for every body. NARAL is powered by its 4 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion.