Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Planned Parenthood to Spend Record $50M in Midterm Elections
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
August 17, 2022

Share

 

Planned Parenthood, the nation’s leading reproductive health care provider and abortion rights advocacy organization, plans to spend a record $50 million ahead of November’s midterm elections, pouring money into contests where access to abortion will be on the ballot.

The effort, which breaks the group’s previous $45 million spending record set in 2020, comes about two months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that created a constitutional right to have an abortion. It will be waged by the organization’s political and advocacy arms and will focus on governor’s offices, U.S. Senate seats and legislative races in nine states where abortion rights could be restricted or expanded depending on the outcome at the ballot.

The historic proportions of the midterm campaign, when less money is usually spent, were made possible by a torrent of money raised after the decision by the high court’s new conservative majority, touching off a tectonic shift in the politics of abortion. Now, for the first time, Republicans who have long campaigned against abortion and Roe v. Wade will face voters on an issue that is no longer hypothetical and carries real life consequences.

Planned Parenthood says its spending will help remind voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin what’s at stake in a bid to drive turnout by Democratic and independent voters.

“Who wins in these midterm elections will determine whether a state has access to abortion and potentially determine whether we will face a national abortion ban,” said Jenny Lawson, the executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes. “We will be clear about who is on which side.”

A recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found a majority of Americans think Congress should pass a law guaranteeing access to legal abortion nationwide. More than half of the respondents said they feel at least somewhat “sad” or “angry” about the Supreme Court’s decision.

Earlier this month in red-state Kansas, voters rejected by nearly 20 percentage points a constitutional amendment that would have allowed the legislature to advance a ban on abortion.

Whether it truly is a galvanizing issue will become clear after Election Day, Nov. 8.

“We say this every cycle: ‘This is the important election,’” said Amy Kennedy, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Votes in Georgia. “For us, this really is the most important election cycle of our life.”

Planned Parenthood says it intends to contact 6 million voters through door knocking, phone calls, digital advertising, mailers and radio ads. It has already run some TV ads in Wisconsin, where Republicans control the statehouse and where Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson are up for reelection.

It also is launching a website, takecontrol2022.com.

While the Supreme Court’s ruling in June effectively left setting abortion policy to the states, Planned Parenthood says it is also investing in U.S. Senate races because Republicans have expressed an interest in pursuing a national abortion ban, though such a measure would almost certainly be vetoed by President Joe Biden.

Democrats and their allies have long tried, without much success, to energize supporters by focusing on abortion. But the Supreme Court’s decision clarified the stakes as never before. In roughly a dozen states led by Republicans, abortion has already been banned or heavily restricted. Many more are expected to follow.

“When people go to vote this November, nearly half of the folks voting could be living in a state that either has already banned abortion or is quickly moving to ban abortion. These are entirely new circumstances,” Lawson said. “There are a lot of issues people care about, certainly, but the state of abortion access is absolutely one of the defining issues this November.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Facing Multiple Charges After Violent Freeway Pursuit and Shooting

DON'T MISS

Former Porterville Librarian Accused of Stealing Thousands From Elderly Friend

DON'T MISS

As Fresno Files First Case, Maxwell Vows to Protect Wage Theft Unit

DON'T MISS

Fowler Felon Jailed After Officers Find Assault Rifle, Drugs in Home Search

DON'T MISS

Young People Drive Fresno to CA’s Top Job Growth: Wells Fargo Study

DON'T MISS

Judge Rejects Claim That Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Was Treated Differently Because of His Race

DON'T MISS

Rapper Tory Lanez Attacked at a California Prison as He Serves Time for Megan Thee Stallion Shooting

DON'T MISS

Grapevine Fire Forces Full Closure of Southbound I-5

DON'T MISS

Fresno’s New Economic Development Leader Has Boomtown Expertise

DON'T MISS

KMJ’s Ray Appleton Is Off the Air as He Deals With ‘Rare Condition’

UP NEXT

Pentagon Halting Gender-Affirming Healthcare for Transgender Troops, Memo Says

UP NEXT

Top Justice Department Official Is Now Also Acting Librarian of Congress

UP NEXT

Trump Tower Damascus? Syria Seeks to Charm US President for Sanctions Relief

UP NEXT

Trump Orders Drugmakers to Cut Prices in 30 Days

UP NEXT

US House Budget Bill Seeks More Than $1.5 Billion for Strategic Petroleum Reserve

UP NEXT

US-China Tariff Talks to Continue Sunday, an Official Tells The Associated Press

UP NEXT

Has America Given Up on Children’s Learning?

UP NEXT

Could Trump Team Suspend Habeas Corpus to Expedite Deportations?

UP NEXT

India and Pakistan Agree to a Ceasefire After Their Worst Military Escalation in Decades

UP NEXT

Ukraine and Allies Urge Putin to Commit to a 30-Day Ceasefire or Face New Sanctions

Fowler Felon Jailed After Officers Find Assault Rifle, Drugs in Home Search

3 hours ago

Young People Drive Fresno to CA’s Top Job Growth: Wells Fargo Study

3 hours ago

Judge Rejects Claim That Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Was Treated Differently Because of His Race

4 hours ago

Rapper Tory Lanez Attacked at a California Prison as He Serves Time for Megan Thee Stallion Shooting

4 hours ago

Grapevine Fire Forces Full Closure of Southbound I-5

4 hours ago

Fresno’s New Economic Development Leader Has Boomtown Expertise

4 hours ago

KMJ’s Ray Appleton Is Off the Air as He Deals With ‘Rare Condition’

5 hours ago

Bakersfield Man Pleads Guilty to Aiming Laser at Sheriff’s Helicopter

6 hours ago

Erika Sandoval Faces Life Sentence for Murder of Former Exeter Police Officer

6 hours ago

US Car Prices Higher in April After Tariffs Hit

6 hours ago

Fresno Man Facing Multiple Charges After Violent Freeway Pursuit and Shooting

The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office has filed charges against a 31-year-old Fresno man, accusing him of attempted murder and ...

2 hours ago

2 hours ago

Fresno Man Facing Multiple Charges After Violent Freeway Pursuit and Shooting

A former Porterville librarian, Vikki Ann Cervantes, 50, faces felony charges for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from an elderly friend over the course of a year while managing her finances. (Shutterstock)
3 hours ago

Former Porterville Librarian Accused of Stealing Thousands From Elderly Friend

3 hours ago

As Fresno Files First Case, Maxwell Vows to Protect Wage Theft Unit

Fowler police and sheriff’s deputies arrested two residents Monday, May 12, 2025, after finding illegal firearms, drugs, and stolen property during a search of their home. (Fowler PD)
3 hours ago

Fowler Felon Jailed After Officers Find Assault Rifle, Drugs in Home Search

3 hours ago

Young People Drive Fresno to CA’s Top Job Growth: Wells Fargo Study

Sean 'Diddy' Combs, far left, looks on from the defense table with his attorneys, as a prospective juror, far right, answers questions posed by Judge Arun Subramanian, center, at Manhattan federal court, Monday, May 5, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
4 hours ago

Judge Rejects Claim That Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Was Treated Differently Because of His Race

Singer Tory Lanez returns to the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center for his trial, Dec. 13, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP File)
4 hours ago

Rapper Tory Lanez Attacked at a California Prison as He Serves Time for Megan Thee Stallion Shooting

A fire has shut down all southbound lanes of I-5 at Grapevine Road on Monday, May 12, 2025, prompting major traffic delays as crews work to extinguish the flames. (CHP)
4 hours ago

Grapevine Fire Forces Full Closure of Southbound I-5

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend