Abortion a Key Issue for Many as Early Voting Begins in Virginia

Virginia residents vote at a voting location in the Rocky Run Middle School in Chantilly, Va., on Nov. 2, 2021. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Abortion is a key issue in Virginia as many head to the polls as early voting begins for the November 2023 elections.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has pledged to push through a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy (with exceptions for rape, incest, and if the mother’s health is at risk) if Republicans win the House of Delegates and the state Senate, as all 140 seats in the General Assembly will be on the ballot.

“I am supportive of a bill to protect life at 15 weeks,” Mr. Youngkin recently said at a press conference. “And you can hear from every one of our candidates that’s what we’re going to do.”

Mr. Youngkin’s previous attempt to pass a 15-week abortion ban was halted by Democrats who narrowly control the Senate.

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, access to abortion has not changed in Virginia and prominent Democrats in the state like Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney are keen on keeping it that way.

“Mayor Stoney has been working tirelessly to ensure Virginia Democrats hold the Senate and win back the House this November,” Kevin Zeithami, a spokesman for Mr. Stoney, told The Epoch Times. “Glenn Youngkin and his MAGA allies hope to make us the next Florida or Texas which is why the mayor has been traveling to every corner of the Commonwealth to make sure Democrats turn out to protect reproductive freedom, our common sense gun safety laws, and the right to vote.”

Republicans in the state meanwhile are putting out a new digital ad this week which seeks to paint Democrats as the party of “no limits.”

“Most people believe that abortion at the moment of birth is wrong, far beyond any reasonable limit. Not Virginia Democrats who have fought to make late-term abortions, the rule not the exception,” the narrator in the ad says, followed by Democrat House Delegate Kathy Tran testifying that a woman could have an abortion up to 40 weeks per a Democratic bill. The ad ends with the sound of a baby crying and the narrator continuing, “when Virginia Democrats say no limits they mean no limits.”

Democratic voter Walt Macondo of Alexandria, Virginia, told The Epoch Times: “I’ve been out knocking on doors all summer long, making sure people know that [Friday, Sept. 22] is the day early voting begins ... to make sure that Virginia stays a safe place for women who want to get an abortion.”

National Attention on Virginia

The outcome of the state elections has gained the attention of national Democrats. The Democratic National Committee has invested $1.2 million into Virginia races and Vice President Kamala Harris was in the state earlier this month to kick off a college tour aimed at mobilizing young voters.

The investment comes as the political action committee supporting Mr. Youngkin, Spirit of Virginia, reported raising a record $5.75 million in this year’s second quarter a sum that surpasses what any previous governor of the state has raised over an entire year. The haul will bring to $8.5 million the total Mr. Youngkin’s PAC has raised in the first six months of 2023

“Virginia Democrats are rudderless. They have no leader. They have no vision, they only have fear. And so it makes sense. They look to DC for a bailout, from [President Joe Biden], and from the DNC,” Zack Roday, the coordinated campaign director for Spirit of Virginia PAC, told The Epoch Times. “In Virginia [Republicans] have a great list of candidates who are raising great dollars. We’ve got great partners and of course, we have Governor Glenn Youngkin. And so we look forward to the next 45 days.”

Elections a Possible Bellwether for 2024

If Republicans can make gains in the Virginia General Assembly during the 2023 election, it could be a sign of how the abortion issue may play in the 2024 elections and shape campaign messaging and policy for candidates in national races.

National Republicans hope to keep the U.S. House of Representatives and gain the majority in the Senate, in a similar way that Virginia Republicans hope to keep their majority in the House of Delegates and gain control of the state Senate.

“I think that Virginia is a bright light for the country for common sense conservative policies that improve people’s lives so of course it is a place to look to for the country as we go into the presidential cycle. We certainly have gotten a lot of attention around the early voting effort and I think rightly so, what the governor is trying to do here is smart blocking and tackling,” said Mr. Roday. “Fundamentally [on abortion] there is a choice here between a common sense position around 15 weeks to protect life with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother versus Democrats who are for no limits and abortion at 40 weeks. Democrats were successful in 2022 because they were able to twist the debate a bit and use a lot of resources to confuse voters and get into fear. And they’re, of course, trying to do that again in 2023. If they come up short, then, we'll see if they change tactics.”

There is also speculation that Mr. Youngkin could enter the 2024 presidential race as a late contender if the GOP in Virginia pulls out a major victory.

“I’m so humbled when people say this to me,” Mr. Youngkin said in an interview with FOX News last month. “I’m so focused on Virginia this year.”

Mr. Youngkin made national headlines in 2021 with his upset victory over former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe, breathing life into the Virginia GOP. Republicans also won statewide races for lieutenant governor and attorney general and took back the state’s House of Delegates.

Nationally, Democrats are buoyed by the outcome in a half dozen states, including conservative Kentucky and Kansas, where voters opted in favor of abortion-related ballot measures. In August, Ohio voters rejected a measure pushed by Republicans that was seen as a proxy for an abortion rights question on the ballot this fall.

Election day in Virginia is Nov. 7, 2023.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.