General
Abortion Could Decide Control of State Supreme Courts
In Michigan, Ohio, Arizona and elsewhere, progressive court candidates are hoping that the abortion issue that helped conservatives remake the federal judiciary will work for them this time.
The fight over the right to an abortion has expanded into yet another corner of American political life: the races to fill seats on state supreme courts.
An effort is underway in Arizona to oust two justices who voted last spring to uphold a 160-year-old ban on most abortions.
In Texas, rulings by the state’s highest state court to sharply limit access to abortion have set off a campaign against three justices who are seeking re-election.
And in Montana, where new justices could undo a ruling that made abortion access a constitutional right, outside money from both the left and right has turned contests for two court seats into multimillion-dollar elections.
For decades, the issue of abortion powered conservative efforts to remake the federal judiciary. This time, progressive candidates and their backers are betting that it can be the driving force in state court races — but this time, to their benefit.
