that was the scene in kansas after resounding victory for abortion rights at the polls. kansans voted overwhelmingly to protect the right to an abortion in the constitution. not only was the result surprising in a state s conservative as kansas but, the margin wasn t even close. kansas voters rejected the anti-abortion measure by nearly 20 points and what s remarkable about the outcome is that kansas republicans did everything they possibly could to stack the deck in their favor. for starters, they scheduled the vote during a typically low turnout august primary instead of during the general election in november, because yesterday s primary focused mostly republican candidates running against each other and would presumably attract mostly republican voters. they made the language of the ballot measures so dense and confusing that the normal person would be hard-pressed to decipher at first glance what s a yes or a no vote even meant. republican groups even blasted out a barra
for starters, they scheduled the vote during a typically low turnout august primary instead of during the general election in november, because yesterday s primary focused mostly republican candidates running against each other and would presumably attract mostly republican voters. they made the language of the ballot measures so dense and confusing that the normal person would be hard-pressed to decipher at first glance what s a yes or a no vote even meant. republican groups even blasted out a barrage of misleading text messages to kansas voters the day before the vote that made it sound like voting yes would protect a woman s right to choose when in fact the opposite is true. but despite all those obstacles, voter turnout was massive, far from the usual trickle of voters for an august primary in a midterm here. turnout approached nearly presidential levels. and the votes to defeat the antiabortion measure didn t just come from the urban and suburban counties where most of
clinics for weeks and what they call the summer of mercy. an abortion provider george tillman was murdered by an antiabortion activist in his church in wichita in 2009. the church where he was murdered by the way was yesterday polling place. but the main reason that this resounding abortion rights victory in kansas is resonating nationwide is that abortion will be on the ballot and lots and lots and lots of races this november, because republicans keep nominating candidates with really extreme views on the subject. last night, republics in michigan told this woman, tutor dixon to be their nominee for governor in november. she supports a total ban on abortion with an exceptionally for the life of the mother, no exceptions for rape or incest. in fact, this was her on a podcast a couple of weeks ago. the question would be like 14 year old who let s say is a
they haven t elected a democratic senator since 1932. there is one elected democratic official in its entire congressional delegation. but it s not just any red state, it is kansas which has been a national flash point over abortion rights since at least 1991 when antiabortion activists from all over the country descended on the state and blocked access to abortion clinics for weeks in what they call the summer of mercy. an abortion provider dr. george tiller was murdered by an antiabortion activist in his church in wichita in 2009. the church where he was murdered by the way was yesterday a polling place. but the main reason that this resounding abortion rights victory in kansas is resonating nationwide is that abortion
sure, kansas does sometimes elect moderate democratic governors but they haven t voted for a democrat for president since lyndon johnson. they haven t electioned a democratic senator since 1932. there s one elected democratic official in its entire congressional delegation. but it s not just any red state. it is kansas. which has been a national flash point over abortion rights since at least 1991, when anti-abortion activists from all over the country desended on the state and blocked access to abortion clinics for weeks, in what they called the summer of mercy. the abortion provider dr. george tiller was murdered by an anti-abortion activist in his church, in wichita, in 2009. the church by the way where he was murdered yesterday, it was a polling place. but the main reason that this resounding abortion rights victory in kansas is resonating