Officials in Republican states have waged legal battles and other efforts to thwart abortion ballot measures or to influence their language. Florida stands out.
Author: Grace Panetta, The 19th
Grace Panetta is a political reporter at The 19th. She previously worked at Insider for four years covering politics with a focus on elections and voting. She holds a degree in political science from Barnard College.
Anti-Trans Laws May Complicate Access to the Ballot for Trans Voters
Advocacy groups are mobilizing to safeguard access to the ballot as states implement laws that could deter trans people from voting in November.
Harris Chooses Gov. Tim Walz—an Abortion Rights and Public Education Advocate—as Running Mate
Vice President Kamala Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate for the 2024 election.
Walz, 60, is a former high school teacher and football coach, non-commissioned officer in the Army National Guard, and member of the U.S. House. He was elected as the state’s top executive in 2018 and again in 2022. He is a strong supporter of abortion rights, called to end the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy related to LGBTQ+ people serving in the military in a speech delivered several years prior to its repeal, and has advocated to legalize recreational marijuana.
JD Vance, Trump’s VP Pick, Has Opposed Abortion and LGBTQ+ Rights
Former President Donald Trump has selected as his running mate Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, who has opposed abortion rights and LGBTQ+ rights in his time in political office.
Vance, who ran as staunchly anti-abortion in his Senate campaign and in 2021 compared abortion to slavery, has somewhat shifted his public stance on the issue. Trump has reportedly viewed a hardline stance on abortion as a negative for a running mate.
On the campaign trail in 2021, Vance defended the lack of exceptions for rape and incest in a Texas abortion ban known as S.B. 8, saying in an interview that “two wrongs don’t make a right.” In a July 2021 interview with Fox News, he criticized “the childless left,” saying, “Why have we let the Democrat Party become controlled by people who don’t have children?” In June, Vance voted against a Democratic-led bill to enshrine access to in vitro fertilization (IVF).
The Three Genders, Per One GOP Super PAC: ‘Male,’ ‘Working Woman’ and ‘Homemaker’
How many genders are there, according to one GOP Super PAC? Three: “Male,” “working woman” and “homemaker.” Those are the categories given in a survey sent out to Montanans on behalf of the super PAC More Jobs, Less Government, which is supporting Montana GOP Senate candidate Tim Sheehy.
It could more broadly speak to how antiquated views of women’s roles persist in parts of the Republican electorate.
Laphonza Butler Tapped to Fill Dianne Feinstein’s Senate Seat
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday named Laphonza Butler, the first Black woman to lead EMILY’s List, to fill the Senate vacancy created by the death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Butler was named two years ago to lead EMILY’s List, which works to elect Democratic women who support abortion access, and has led the organization through the end of federal abortion rights. Butler will also be the first openly LGBTQ+ senator from California.
“An advocate for women and girls, a second-generation fighter for working people, and a trusted adviser to Vice President Harris, Laphonza Butler represents the best of California, and she’ll represent us proudly in the United States Senate,” Newsom said in a statement.