Democrats push for campaign reset in the most pro-abortion rights swing state

So did Kevin Smith, the Londonderry town manager and former director of a conservative advocacy organization, who has repeatedly attacked Hassan for opposing the 24-week abortion ban in the state.

Several of the Republicans running against Kuster and Pappas have expressed similar views on the Supreme Court’s decision or stayed silent in the wake of its ruling — a sign of the complicated politics. Instead, New Hampshire Republicans have quickly returned to hammering their Democratic rivals over inflation and rising fuel prices.

“We’ve got commonsense laws here regarding abortion and that’s not the focus going forward,” New Hampshire GOP Chair Steve Stepanek said in an interview. “The focus is, how do we get this Biden inflation under control? And I think most people are concerned about their future, concerned about putting food on the table.”

Democrats contend that reproductive rights are fueling voters’ uncertainties just as much as the economy — and in an interview, Kuster connected the two.

“It’s fine by me if [Republicans] miss the moment and misunderstand what’s happening,” Kuster said. “Of course people are concerned about lowering costs. But those very people know that they probably can’t afford another child if they have two or three children. And they want to control their future, their autonomy. They want to continue their schooling. They want to stay in the workplace. … They don’t want the government mandating a pregnancy that they do not intend.”

Support for abortion rights is on the rise in New Hampshire and at an all-time high among voters nationally. Yet some of those same polls, and many others, show the economy is still top of mind for voters, with gas prices recently topping $5 a gallon on average in New England and the prices of food and other goods rising along with it.

Those concerns, coupled with President Joe Biden’s approval numbers and U.S. inflation numbers moving in opposite directions, have given Republicans in New Hampshire and elsewhere plenty of fodder against their Democratic rivals.

“Regardless of the abortion issue, the Democrats will still have a lower voter turnout than Republicans, because people are so frustrated with Joe Biden and the Democrats in Washington who are doing absolutely nothing to help our economy,” said Mike Dennehy, a veteran New Hampshire Republican strategist.

Democrats dismiss that charge. In conversations and press calls, Hassan, Pappas and Kuster were all quick to describe efforts to lower gas prices and prescription drug costs. Hassan has for months been pushing to suspend the 18 cents-per-gallon federal gas tax — a call that hasn’t generated much enthusiasm in Washington, and which her Republican rivals have dismissed as an “election year gimmick.”

“I know there are a number of economic challenges that we’re facing in New Hampshire,” Pappas said in an interview. “We’re working hard on gas prices, and lowering prices at the grocery store and addressing inflation.”

While Democrats are trying to leverage abortion as a major campaign issue, they have to give equal weight to inflation and cost of living concerns.

“Obviously, the pocketbook issues, that’s top of mind for voters,” Kuster said. “But I would not underestimate particularly the decision in Roe that hits so close to home and affects people’s personal lives.”