Terry McAuliffe Made Abortion a Major Campaign Issue, and It Backfired

Throughout the Virginia gubernatorial campaign I have covered Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe's preoccupation with abortion, an issue he sought to make a major part of his platform. He also sought to create a panic among Virginia voters by claiming his opponent, Governor-Elect Glenn Youngkin's pro-life position with exceptions amounted to him wanting to "ban" abortion and that it would be "gone" in the commonwealth. Ultimately, polls showed that abortion was not a major campaign issue for many Virginians. Even worse for McAuliffe, though, was how it backfired. For those who considered abortion a major issue, they broke in favor of Youngkin, and by double digits. -- More...