The Arizona Supreme Court decision banning nearly all abortions in the state could have a huge impact on politics in the state and beyond.
Former President Trump, whose appointees to the U.S. Supreme Court made up three of the five votes in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, has recently sought to neutralize the issue by saying abortion should be left up to individual states.
The situation in Arizona centers on a Civil War-era law the state’s highest court ruled to uphold. Under the 1864 law, it would be a felony to perform an abortion or help someone obtain one.
Vulnerable House Republicans and Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake are now trying to distance themselves from the ban.
“I don’t think there’s a single Republican candidate in Arizona that was prepared for the fallout of this particular decision,” Stan Barnes, a Republican consultant who previously served in Arizona’s state Senate, told The Hill.
Democrats, meanwhile, have been leaning into the abortion rights debate as a focus of the November elections. Lake’s Democratic rival for the open Senate seat, Rep. Ruben Gallego, posted a video to social media platform X after the court’s decision, calling it “inhumane.”
“It’s my view that Gallego had a slight edge prior to this ruling,” Kirk Adams, former state House Speaker and chief of staff to former Gov. Doug Ducey (R), told The Hill. “After this ruling, I think it’s his race to lose.”
The Arizona seat could ultimately sway the Senate majority in the coming term. The issue could also have an impact on the House majority.
