On Tuesday night, Republicans should have won in a landslide. Historically, presidents with negative approval numbers lose big in the House and Senate; for example, the backlash to President Obama’s 2008 win resulted in the GOP picking up 65 seats in the 2010 midterms. That didn’t happen in 2022 and for a number of reasons, but five states also voted on the issue of abortion, and the results may be a clear bellwether regarding one of the reasons why the midterms didn’t pan out well for the right.
It turns out women enjoy having human rights, and we vote.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) November 9, 2022
In blue states California and Vermont, the purple state of Michigan, and the red states of Kentucky and Montana, bills that would either abolish abortion in the states’ constitutions or enshrine them were met with surprising results. In four of the five, voters made clear their belief that the government has no business legislating women’s bodies. In Kentucky, the total is outstanding, but the future of the right wing’s abortion ban is clearly not bright there, either.
Former Secretary of State and New York Senator Hillary Clinton tweeted about the results of the midterm elections, which should have been a red wave according to historical precedent, and how women and allies for reproductive justice have made their voices heard. The vote in Kentucky, so far, appears to be on the same track as a similar vote in ruby red Kansas earlier in the year.
While white women continued to vote slightly more for Republican candidates, women of color made their views known and the country has decidedly told the GOP that banning abortion is something they’ll pursue without the support of the American people.
Twitter was happy to see the results of the election but still hoped white women would do more in the future to vote in their own self-interests and to support other women. Read some of their comments below:
