In 2016, former President Donald Trump won by sweeping the so-called "blue wall" states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. But since then, Democrats have racked up win after win after win in these states — culminating in this week's landslide victory by Democratic-endorsed nonpartisan Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz in Wisconsin over pro-Trump former state Justice Dan Kelly.
There's one factor turbocharging Democrats' resurgence in the Midwest, argued CNN political analyst Ron Brownstein on Wednesday: the Trump-aligned Supreme Court's rescission of Roe v. Wade, and Republicans' subsequent push to ban abortion outright all over the country.
"We did hear the former Vice President Mike Pence," said anchor Alex Marquardt. "He recently told our colleague Wolf Blitzer that he does support a nationwide abortion ban. So how do Republican candidates navigate this?"
"Well look, I mean, I think it's gonna be enormous pressures ... on Republican candidates to not only support some — to say they will sign some form of a national abortion ban, but also to take steps against medication abortion, which Donald Trump did not do while he was in office," said Brownstein.
"I think this is enormously significant for 2024 because it continues the trajectory that we have seen not only in Wisconsin but also in Michigan and Pennsylvania," Brownstein continued. "You know, those are the three states, part of the blue wall that Donald Trump dislodged in 2016, won all three of them, maximizing his support among those non-college and non-urban voters. Since then, they have all moved back toward the Democrats, with Democrats winning the governorship, both in 18 and 22, Biden carrying all three of them in 20, and then this remarkable win yesterday. You know, Biden won the state by 20,000 votes. Trump won the state in 2016 by 20,000 votes, in Wisconsin. Protasiewicz won by 200,000 votes, largely because of that suburban erosion ... as well as improvement, even in white, working-class areas."
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"I think, Alex, when you add all of this up, it says it is going to be very difficult for a Republican — not impossible, but very difficult for a Republican who is advocating any kind of restrictions on abortion that would affect those states. I think to carry Michigan, Pennsylvania, or even Wisconsin in 2024 — Wisconsin is the best bet for Republicans out of those three, and yesterday was a very clear indication that when Republicans put up their best wedge issue, crime, against the Democrats' best wedge issue, abortion, it really was no contest."
Watch the segment below or at this link.
Ron Brownstein says GOP is bleeding support from Midwest over abortionwww.youtube.com
