Democrats react swiftly to SCOTUS Roe v. Wade ruling, but will abortion upend the midterm elections?

In the minutes after the Supreme Court’s blockbuster opinion on Friday that overturned the nearly half century old landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide, Democrats instantly reacted.

"Today’s Supreme Court ruling is the culmination of a coordinated Republican effort to attack this fundamental freedom – but Democrats will fight back with every tool we can, and voters of every political persuasion will hold the GOP accountable in 2022," the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic Governors Association, and other Democratic committees vowed in a statement.

SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS ROE V. WADE IN LANDMARK ABORTION DECISION

"Make no mistake: The Republican Party will not stop at overturning Roe. The 2022 election will now determine whether new, cruel, and punishing restrictions will be put in place on women and families," the Democratic committees charged.

Reaction came quickly on the campaign trail.

Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, who’s being targeted by Republicans as she faces a challenging reelection in a crucial swing state in November’s midterm elections, stressed that "the danger now facing women and our country is real and it is grave."

READ THE SUPREME COURT RULING OVERTURNING ROE V. WADE 

"In denying a woman the right to make her own decisions free from the interference of politicians, the Supreme Court has sent us back 50 years," the senator emphasized.

And former North Carolina state supreme court chief justice Cheri Beasley, the Democratic nominee in the key battleground state’s open Senate seat race, emphasized that "today, for the first time in our history, the Supreme Court took away an individual constitutional right. I join people across the country in anger and fear at this moment for what the Supreme Court’s decision will mean for women, American families, and health care providers."

The DNC, DSCC, and DCCC quickly launched a national volunteer organizing effort that aims to steer Democratic activism on the issue towards the coordinated campaigns for party candidates in key House and Senate races across the country. The committees are firing up a website to serve as an online hub to strengthen organizing efforts and make it easier for activists to volunteer their time. 

The party committees also said they plan to hold "weeks of action," which they say will strengthen the volunteer effort through tried-and-true campaign techniques such as canvassing, phone banking and texting.

THE ABORTION BATTLE NOW MOVES TO THE 50 STATES

While the Democrats were instantly vocal, Republican nominees running this year in competitive races appeared quieter. One exception was former football star and businessman Herschel Walker, the GOP nominee challenging Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in a high-profile, high-stakes race in the purple state of Georgia.

"This Supreme Court decision sends the issue of abortion back to the states, which is where it belongs," Walker said in a statement. And he charged that "I stand for life and Raphael Warnock stands for abortion."

Democrats face historical headwinds and a bruising political climate fueled by soaring inflation, rising crime, and a well-publicized southern border crisis, which are epitomized by President Biden’s flagging approval ratings, as they try to retain the razor-thin House and Senate majorities. 

But party strategists see a silver lining in the seismic overturning of Roe v. Wade and the returning the issue of legalized abortion to state legislatures.

It may offer Democrats a chance to alter the campaign conversation, energize the left-leaning base, and win back key female and suburban voters who helped the Democrats win back the House in 2018 but appeared to cross party lines in some 2020 congressional contests and again in GOP victories in elections in Virginia and New Jersey last November.

WHAT DOES THE OVERTURNING OF ROE V. WADE MEAN?

But the jury is still out on whether the overturning of the abortion ruling would overturn the midterm elections. Kyle Kondik, managing editor of the non-partisan Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, told Fox News recently that "I think it’s too soon to tell" if the high court’s overturning Roe v. Wade would be a campaign game changer."

"Hypothetically, Roe going away could provide Democrats with a needed shot in the arm. But we can’t just automatically assume it would change the basic contours of the midterm elections," he said.

While there’s general agreement among Democrats that overturning Roe v. Wade may help Democrats soften some of the blows they’re expected to take in the battle for control of Congress, few believe it will be enough to turn the tide against what’s expected to be a brutal midterm election for the majority party.

A veteran Democratic strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, predicted that the abortion issue would "help on the edges" but said a major plunge in gas prices and in migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border "would be more beneficial."

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But this doesn't mean Democrats aren't already emphasizing the issue.

"The stakes of November’s elections could not be higher – and voters will make their voices heard by standing with Democrats up and down the ballot," the Democratic committees said.