Polls show voters care more about the economy than abortion. Democrats in the Rust Belt state argue the two can’t be separated.Polls show voters care more about the economy than abortion. Democrats in the Rust Belt state argue the two can’t be separated.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has an answer for Democrats at odds over whether to emphasize abortion rights or the economy in the campaign’s final days: the two issues are one and the same.
With recent polls showing economic stress outranking abortion concerns, the embattled Democratic governor is making a pitch to voters and business owners: If they reelect her and pass a constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights, she can lure employers and workers from neighboring states where anti-abortion laws have taken effect since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June.
“I’m going to be working to draw investment into Michigan once we lock women’s rights into law,” Whitmer said in an interview. “We have the best workforce, low cost of living, high quality of life and women can make decisions about their bodies. That’s the story I want to be able to tell.”
There is growing anxiety among Democrats nationwide that outrage over the loss of abortion in more than a dozen states won’t be enough to push their candidates over the finish line in purple states like Michigan. Though the elimination of Roe unleashed a wave of energy on the left earlier this summer, carrying abortion rights measures and those who support them to victory in some primaries, high inflation and other cost-of-living issues have chipped away at voters’ enthusiasm for Democratic candidates.
Whitmer now has a 5-point lead over GOP rival Tudor Dixon, down from 12 points one month ago, according to 538. Her race is narrowing even as polls show strong support for the measure to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution to which she’s closely tied her campaign.
Michigan GOP gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon has downplayed the effects of restrictive abortion laws and distanced herself from the state’s draconian 1931 abortion law.
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Michael Buck/WOOD TV8 via AP
With less than two weeks before Election Day, she, along with Attorney General Dana Nessel and other Democrats on the ballot in the swing state, are warning that workers will flee if the amendment fails and the state’s long-dormant 1931 anti-abortion law takes effect, making it harder for businesses — particularly those in tech, health care and the service sector — to recruit and retain employees.
“I hear from businesses all the time that they are feeling the weight of the ‘she-cession,’ meaning women leaving the workplace during Covid,” she said. “If we want women to come back into the workplace in Michigan, we better not take away their right to be full citizens and make decisions about their own health care. That’s what’s at risk here.”
Other Democrats around the country are touting a similar message — using the final days of their campaigns to argue abortion and financial concerns are inextricably linked.
Georgia gubernatorial hopeful Stacey Abrams said in a recent interview that protecting the right to terminate a pregnancy helps individuals make economic choices about the size of their families as inflation surges. California Gov. Gavin Newsom bought billboards this year in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas trying to entice workers to come to his state, a “sanctuary” for abortion rights.
But Michigan’s candidates are testing a broader message aimed at employers and where they can best recruit and invest.
“All you have to do is talk to any business owner in the state and they’ll tell you, they don’t have enough people working for them. Everyone is desperate,” Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who is in a tight contest to hold onto her swing district, told POLITICO. “So, are we going to be an open-minded state that believes in equality and rights? Or are we going to be a backwards-looking state? Businesses don’t like backward-looking states.
