GOP group polling memo: Abortion trails economy, crime as top issue

Abortion trails the economy and crime as top issues ahead of the midterms, according to a new polling memo from the Republican State Leadership Committee. 

Only 8 percent of voters polled said they considered abortion to be the most important issue to them, while 37 percent said the same about the high cost of living and inflation. Another 16 percent said the economy, in general, was their most important issue, while 9 percent said crime and violence were the most important to them. 

Among independent voters, 60 percent said inflation, jobs and the economy were their top concern, while only 21 percent said “abortion is the absolute most important issue” to them. 

Additionally, 49 percent of likely voters said they would be willing to vote for a candidate who has a different view from them on abortion as long as the candidate agrees with them on most other issues. 

The polling also showed a poor national environment for Democrats ahead of the midterms, with 74 percent of likely voters saying the country is on the wrong track and 23 percent saying it is on the right track. President Biden’s unfavorable rating sits at 57 percent while 41 percent of likely voters said they have a favorable view of him. And Republican state legislative candidate lead Democrats on the generic ballot, 47 to 45 percent. 

“A little more than four months from Election Day, the political environment is still a disaster for state Democrats, state Republicans have a commanding lead on what is far and away the most important issue to voters, and the issues state Democrats are trying to exploit to distract from Biden’s failing economy are not going to be salient enough to save them come November,” the polling memo read. 

The polling memo comes as Democrats zero in on the issue of abortion access in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade last week. Democrats have pointed to a number of polls that show voters unhappy with the high court’s decision. 

A CBS News-YouGov poll released Sunday, 52 percent of voters said the decision was a “step backward,” while 31 percent said it was a “step forward.”

An NPR-PBS NewsHour-Marist poll published on Monday found that 78 percent of Democrats said they are more likely to vote in this year’s midterms in response to the ruling, while 54 percent of Republicans said the same.