Planned Parenthood has announced that will allocate $40 million before the November elections to support President Joe Biden and top Democrats in Congress. The group hopes voter outrage over Republican efforts to restrict abortion access will influence key races across the country. This strategy was shared with the newspaper The Associated Press before its public dissemination.
The campaign will initially focus on eight states: Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where Biden seeks to maintain his close 2020 victories, as well as North Carolina, which the Biden campaign hopes to recover after Donald Trump’s victory in 2016. Also on the list are Montana, New Hampshire and New York, which have important elections for control of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Funds They will be used for polling programs, telephone banking, and digital, television and mail advertising. Jenny Lawson, executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes, declared: “Abortion will be the message of this election and It will be the way we energize voters. “It will be what will allow us to win.”
While this spending is significant, it is not a record for the group in an election cycle. In 2020, they spent $45 million to support Biden against Trump, and 50 million dollars in the 2022 legislative elections. Planned Parenthood’s advocacy arms have focused their investments in races where access to abortion is at stakeespecially after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wadethe 1973 decision that established the constitutional right to abortion.
Since the Supreme Court ruling, most Republican-controlled states have implemented new restrictions on abortion, some of which prohibit abortion at all stages of pregnancy. Despite these restrictions, voters in seven states (California, Michigan, Vermont, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana and Ohio) have supported abortion rights measures.
In November, several states, including Arizona and Nevada, will have abortion referendums on the ballot. Florida, traditionally a key state in presidential elections, will also include an abortion referendum, which could increase voter turnout.
SBA Pro-Life Americaone of the main groups opposing abortion rights, announced in February that plans to spend $92 million in eight key states: Arizona, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Montana and Georgia.
In addition to national efforts, local Planned Parenthood affiliates in California, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio are planning defense campaigns before November. These efforts will also focus on local elections, such as supporting Democrats in the Nevada House of Representatives or opposing state Supreme Court justices in Arizona who supported restrictive abortion laws.