The steady U.S. economy and voter anger over threats to abortion rights buoyed Democratic President Joe Biden in the first months of his presidential campaign. However, voters appear receptive to various culture-war issues his Republican rivals are campaigning on. The Republicans fighting for their party’s nomination to take on President Biden in 2024, led by former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, have emphasized issues such as immigration, public school teaching on gender and sexuality, and transgender athletes in youth sports.
But the economy, which has helped propel Democrats to success in the midterm elections, remains central for most Americans when deciding how to vote. A new CNN poll released last week found that nine in 10 voters rated the economy extremely important when choosing whom to send to Congress. The economy outranked concerns such as college tuition, inflation numbers, and gasoline prices.
As a result, the Democratic candidates vying to replace Trump mainly focus on economic themes in their bids for the White House. Biden, who is the most experienced Democrat in the race with a long legislative record on a range of issues, has emphasized his pro-choice positions in his campaign launch video and will continue to push for abortion rights during a weekend rally with Democratic lawmakers and reproductive rights activists in Charlotte, North Carolina, where a state constitutional amendment restricting abortion rights went on the ballot last year.
The decision by the Supreme Court on Friday to overturn Roe v Wade, which enshrined the right to choose an abortion, has refocused the political debate on the issue and created a new flashpoint for voters to consider in their choice of a presidential candidate. But Biden, who has a track record of supporting abortion rights in the Senate, has yet to fully embrace the role as a leading voice for the issue. That leaves room for Harris and other liberal Democrats to enter the fray, which has already seen several high-profile Democrat endorsers – including self-help author Marianne Williamson – jump in.
