Abortion to Be Important Issue in the US Midterms: Pew Survey

A majority of U.S. registered voters (56 percent) say the issue of abortion will be very important in their midterm vote, according to a Pew Research Center survey, which came two months after the Supreme Court ended the federal guarantee of a right to legal abortion.

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That number was up from 43 percent in March and virtually all of the increase has come among Democrats, 71 percent of whom rate abortion as very important, up significantly from several months ago.

Republicans continue to view economy as by far the top issue in the November elections. Nine in 10 Republican voters view economy as very important, roughly 20 percentage points higher than any other issue.

Among Democrats, 77 percent view health care as a very important voting issue, while about two-thirds or more say the same about gun policy, Supreme Court appointments, economy, and climate change, in addition to abortion.

The two parties are essentially tied on midterm voting intentions. Forty-four percent say that if the election were held today, they would vote for the Democratic candidate in their district or lean toward the Democrat, while 42 percent would vote for the Republican or lean Republican. 

One in 10 registered voters say they are not sure, while only 4 percent favor a candidate other than a Republican or a Democrat.

The survey also found that among all adults, U.S. President Joe Biden's job approval rating remains in negative territory -- 37 percent approve of his job performance as president, while 60 percent disapprove. 

Currently, 49 percent of registered voters say that Biden is not much of a factor in their midterm vote, while 31 percent think of their vote as a vote against Biden and 19 percent see it as a vote for him. The share saying Biden, a Democrat, is not much of a factor in their voting decision has increased 11 percentage points since March.

The Pew Research Center survey was conducted among 7,647 adults in the United States, including 5,681 registered voters, from Aug. 1-14.