Spencer reported Saturday how new polling showed that those who are pro-abortion are less certain than those who are pro-life that they will vote this fall in the midterm elections. This came after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Democrats used it as a rallying call for Americans to head to the polls in November and elect pro-abortion politicians.
A new poll published on Monday shows how many Americans believe abortion is a top issue facing the country and what the top issues are broken down by political party.
The Gallup poll published Monday showed that Americans named inflation, government/leadership and the economy as the top issues facing the country.
In the poll write-up, Gallup noted that the issue of abortion escalated the the fourth spot of the top issues facing the country.
Abortion ranks behind three other issues on the "most important" list in Gallup's July 5-26 update. Inflation (17%) and dysfunctional government or bad leadership (17%) top the list, with another 12% of Americans making general complaints about the economy. In addition to specific mentions of inflation, 5% of respondents mention fuel and gas prices.
The jump in mentions of abortion as the top problem is likely a direct reflection of the recent Supreme Court Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Media outlets began reporting the leaked court decision on May 2, and mentions of abortion as the top problem rose to 5% in Gallup's May poll. These mentions fell in the June survey, which was conducted before the court issued its ruling in the Dobbs case on June 24. Gallup's July survey showing the 8% mentions for abortion began after the court's official publication of that decision.
Gallup noted that Americans who name abortion as a top issue are likely to be Democrats or Democratic-leaning Independents. Thirteen percent say that abortion is the nation’s top problem and is the Democrats’ second highest concern.
On the other hand, only four percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents mentioned abortion as a top issue. In May, 58 percent of Republicans polled favored the Supreme Court overturning Roe.
Republicans' top concern is inflation, mentioned by 25%, contrasting with 8% of Democrats who mention it. Additionally, 9% of Republicans mention gas and fuel prices as the top problem, compared with 2% of Democrats.
Gallup noted that the differences between the parties and their top concerns are “stark.”
Republicans are in part more likely to mention inflation, the economy in general and fuel prices as the top problem because they associate these with the Biden administration. This follows from the well-documented pattern by which partisans whose party's president is in the White House are much more likely to be positive about the economy than others. In the current July Gallup poll, for example, 8% of Republicans and leaners rate economic conditions as excellent or good, and 71% rate them as poor. That compares with 21% of Democrats and leaners who rate the economy as excellent or good and 31% who rate it as poor.
Three other issues reflect similar partisan gaps. Democrats are significantly more likely than Republicans to say that gun-related issues and climate/environmental issues are the top problems. On the other hand, Republicans are much more likely to mention immigration.
