More Black women say abortion is their top issue in the 2024 election, a survey finds

By AMANDA SEITZ (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than a quarter of female Black voters describe abortion as their top issue in this year’s presidential election, a poll out Thursday from health policy research firm KFF reveals.

The findings signal a significant shift from previous election years, when white, conservative evangelicals were more likely to peg abortion as their biggest priority when voting. Those voters were highly motivated in recent presidential elections to cast ballots for Donald Trump, who promised to appoint U.S. Supreme Court judges who would take away the constitutional right to an abortion.

But just months ahead of the first presidential election since the court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, that voting dynamic is drastically changing, KFF’s poll suggests.

“It’s a complete shift,” said Ashley Kirzinger, a KFF pollster. “Abortion voters are young, Black women — and not white evangelicals.”

Overall, 12% of voters surveyed said abortion was the most important issue in this year’s election.

Certain female voters, however, were more likely to identify the issue as top of mind. They include 28% of Black women, 19% of women living in states where abortion is banned, and 17% of women who are under age 50.

Of voters who said that abortion was their most important issue, two-thirds said they believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

For decades, white evangelicals eager to see abortion banned have turned out to vote on the issue, Kirzinger said. Trump, a Republican, has spent nearly a decade courting those voters with promises to support conservative judges and with a cohort of religious surrogates who warned evangelicals that his Democratic rivals would dramatically expand abortion access in the U.S. Trump received overwhelming support from white evangelicals in the previous presidential elections.