NBC, ABC and more debate effect Roe will have on midterms: 'It hasn't made a difference in the past'

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NBC, ABC, and more debate effect Roe will have on midterms

NBC, ABC, and more debated Sunday whether abortion and the potential overturn of Roe v. Wade would make a difference in the midterm elections.

NBC, ABC, and more debated Sunday whether abortion and the potential overturn of Roe v. Wade would make a difference in the midterm elections.

Following the leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, which signaled that the 1973 ruling might be overturned, protests have erupted throughout the country. 

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NBC's Chuck Todd said during Sunday's "Meet the Press" that the possible reversal of Roe has "given life to the Democratic coalition." If the decision does get overturned, he said, it might level the playing field. 

Todd noted a new NBC News poll that showed Republicans still had the advantage, but it also showed that support for Roe v. Wade ticked up. Sixty-three percent oppose overturning Roe v. Wade, and inflation and the economy remain the top issue for voters, according to the poll.

Abortion rights activist rally at the Washington Monument before a march to the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, May 14, 2022. (Photo by JOSE LUIS MAGANA/AFP via Getty Images) (JOSE LUIS MAGANA/AFP via Getty Images)

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On ABC's "This Week," Molly Ball, Time magazine's national political correspondent, said that the party has already seen the "activation," noting the protests and demonstrations that have emerged across the country in response to the leak.

"Democrats have to hope that that continues," Ball said. "People do not feel like the Democrats are helping them, people do not feel that the government is doing anything to solve their problems right now." 

She said that the party needed something to remind their base about "what's at stake here" with Roe, adding that some voters might be more motivated to get out and vote in November. Ball noted that it has been 50 years since Roe and abortion were on the ballot. 

Host George Stephanopoulos said that "it has not made a difference in the past." 

People protest after the leak of a draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito, preparing for a majority of the court to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision later this year, in New York City, U.S., May 3, 2022.  REUTERS/Yana Paskova

Former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile suggested that it hasn't because the Supreme Court has always appeared distant from voters, whereas elected officials have mattered more. 

She said that she's been "amazed" by the younger voters who have been "mobilized" by the possibility Roe could be overturned. 

A CNN "Inside Politics" panel also took a look at the possibility that Roe would affect the midterms. Axios managing editor Margaret Talev said she looked at "swing voter focus groups in Georgia." 

"Young voters can be turned out on abortion, liberal college educated women, some voters of color may be able to be turned out on abortion rights," Talev said. She noted the group of 13 swing voters, who she said all believed in abortion rights. 

"Zero of 13 said that it would be the decisive reason why they voted," she continued. 

Astead Herndon, a CNN analyst and New York Times political reporter, said during the segment that the Democratic Party was on the "defensive crouch about abortion for a long time."

"They were kind of worried to embrace kind of the offensive political language of saying that this is a thing they should be advocating for. We’ve seen that slightly change particularly with some progressive women candidates in the last election," he said, adding that it hasn't been a complete party embrace. 

President Joe Biden, with first lady Jill Biden, speaks during a visit at Brookland Middle School in northeast Washington, on Sept. 10. Biden has encouraged every school district to promote vaccines, including with on-site clinics. (Associated Press)

President Biden, Herndon said, has not "has yet to say the words abortion as president," arguing that the president has used the word "abortion" in written statements and text, "but won't say it in his actual language." 

Media analysts, experts and more have indicated for months that the midterms were going to be a "bloodbath" for the Democratic Party, as inflation and gas prices soar to record highs. 

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Politico first reported the leaked draft opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case on May 2.

""We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled," Alito said in the leaked draft. "It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives."