NC Trump-Biden swing voters weigh in on new abortion restrictions
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Candidates and elected officials should be clear with voters about where they would set limits on abortion, North Carolina swing voters said in our latest Engagious/Schlesinger focus group.
- And most participating voters believe abortion should be banned after 20 weeks.
Driving the news: Engagious/Sago conducted two online focus groups Monday, in which all 11 participants voted for Donald Trump in 2016 then Joe Biden in 2020.
- Seven are independents, three are Democrats, and one is a Republican.
Why it matters: The respondents' comments on abortion come on the tail of North Carolina's passage of legislation restricting it after 12 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for extreme cases.
- A poll released by Elon University Wednesday also yielded similar results, with 45% of those surveyed saying they somewhat or strongly oppose the move from restrictions after 20 weeks to 12.
The intrigue: The bill's passage into law was made possible by state Rep. Tricia Cotham, whose flip from Democrat to Republican handed the GOP the ability to pass the legislation.
- Only four participants said her name sounded familiar, and only one knew about her party flip's impact on abortion laws — a reminder of how insulated state politics are.
Along the same lines, only one person recognized Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson — who is running for governor — when shown his photo. Two people recognized his name.
What they're saying: "Robinson and Cotham might as well be in the Witness Protection Program given how unfamiliar North Carolina swing voters are with both of them," Rich Thau, moderator and president of Engagious told Axios.
Of note: While a focus group is not a statistically significant sample like a poll, the responses show how some voters are thinking and talking about current events.