Democratic Committee Draws Line on Abortion Rights

The Wall Street Journal: Democratic Committee Draws Line on Abortion Rights
By Andrew Duehren

This item first appeared in the Capital Journal newsletter. Read today’s full newsletter here or sign up here for daily updates in your inbox.

A Democratic campaign committee will only support candidates who publicly announce their support for abortion rights, the latest indication of how the party considers the issue central to its voters.

The Democratic Attorneys General Association, which supports Democratic candidates for state attorneys general positions, announced its new position Monday, calling its new litmus test a “first-of-its-kind for any Democratic campaign committee.”

The new policy provides two insights into the state of Democratic Party politics.

First, anti-abortion Democrats are in an increasingly isolated position. A primary challenger to Rep. Dan Lipinski (D., Ill.), one of the few anti-abortion Democrats in Congress, has earned the endorsement of several national Democrats.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat who won re-election in the conservative state on Saturday, openly opposes abortion, indicating that anti-abortion Democrats may still find electoral success in some conservative pockets of the country.

The new posture from the attorneys general association comes at a key moment. The rollout of the new policy repeatedly alludes to recent efforts in GOP-controlled state legislatures to restrict abortion access. Several Democratic fundraising juggernauts, including Emily’s List, have put supporting abortion rights at the center of their platforms, and the new policy could help the DAGA raise more money and gain stature in liberal circles.