Polis Steering Committee Members and Faculty Discuss the Dobbs v. Jackson Ruling on Midterm Elections

Professor Kerry Haynie, Professor Asher Hildebrand and Professor Mac McCorkle discuss the significance of the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling on the upcoming North Carolina midterm elections.

“That [abortion] decision … throws things up in the air…We don’t yet know what will happen. I suspect it will be an advantage for Democratic candidates in this state and across the country. I suspect there are some Republican women and independent women who otherwise would be attracted to Republican candidates who may shift and vote for Democratic candidates.” – Professor Kerry Haynie

“The election was shaping up to be a referendum on an unpopular president – an historically unpopular president. Democrats in Congress, despite some early victories, had their agenda largely stymied by internal divisions, as well as by unified Republican [opposition] in Congress. Inflation or price politics and other economic concerns dominated in voters’ minds. And on top of that you had the less pronounced but still very real structural advantage created by gerrymandering created by Republicans. Since then, the defining issue has been abortion and the reaction to the Dobbs decision in many voters’ minds.” – Professor Hildebrand

“It looks like Democrats are way more excited about Cheri Beasley than Republicans are about Congressman [Ted] Budd…I think the Budd people are a little bit in crisis in trying to figure out what their message is. Is he a generic R or is he a Trump Republican?” – Professor McCorkle on the N.C. Senate Race.