Democrats worry border will overshadow abortion in 2024 elections
Some House Democrats say they are worried border security could overshadow abortion and reproductive rights as the key campaign issue in the 2024 elections.
LEESBURG, Va. — With the Senate asylum and border deal firmly in the grave, some House Democrats say they are worried border security could overshadow reproductive rights as the key campaign issue in the 2024 elections.
Their fears are especially focused on suburban swing districts in blue states where abortion rights are already protected and a fight over the border may hurt Democrats in seats that could determine which party controls the majority next year.
“I’m concerned that in blue states where reproductive rights are already protected, does the border become more salient than the threat to reproductive rights near metropolitan areas?” one moderate lawmaker who represents a suburban district said here at House Democrats’ annual retreat.
President Joe Biden and down-ballot Democrats can “perform well” on issues like reproductive rights, gun violence and the economy “when there is less chaos in the world,” the Democratic lawmaker said, noting that “public safety has improved in a lot of places and you see crime down.” But with wars worsening in the Middle East and Europe and recent record migrant crossings at the southern border, issues like border security “start to compete for salience, and that’s the concern.”
At the House Democrats’ yearly issues conference at the Lansdowne Resort near the Potomac River in northern Virginia, there were closed-door panels with experts on important issues such as reproductive rights, housing, child and elder care, lowering costs, unions, climate, engaging young voters, artificial intelligence, Ukraine and China. But there was no formal panel during the three-day gathering on immigration or border security — even as the issue reached a fever pitch on Capitol Hill in recent weeks.
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