Tuesday was a good day for reproductive rights, but social conservatives will use the results to try to reassert their influence over the Republican Party.
The midterm was not just a triumph for Democrats broadly; it was specifically a good night for reproductive rights. Not only did Democrats flip the House and Senate, but 3 of the 4 ballot measures on the subject passed. Congressional Democrats can block judges sympathetic to the anti-abortion movement and dare President Donald Trump to veto new protections. Nevertheless, there are warning signs for abortion-rights supporters for the remainder of Trump’s time in the White House.
Although it may seem counter-intuitive, social conservatives will use these results to try to reassert their influence over the Republican Party. The argument, in short, is that Republicans would have fared better had abortion been a more important issue in the campaign. The ballot measures that protected abortion access can be chalked up to the blue wave that swept so many Republicans out of Congress. And in Idaho, voters in the middle of a blue wave comfortably rejected a proposal enshrining abortion rights.
SOURCE: Ms. by Mary Ziegler. 7 November 2026. https://www.ms.now/opinion/midterm-election-abortion-referendum-rights