The Supreme Court confirmation fight brewing in Washington has made abortion a front-burner issue in governors races around the country, as Democrats warn that Republicans could try to ban the practice in their states if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

The possibility that the Supreme Court will leave it to the states to legislate the legality of abortion has prompted a flurry of advertisements and campaign pronouncements from Democrats — and muted responses from many Republicans, who have generally praised Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh without getting into specifics about how he might affect abortion rights.


"This issue has been at the forefront of my campaign because down the road I see that it is not only possible but probable that Roe v. Wade would be overturned,” said former Rep. Gwen Graham, a Democratic candidate for governor in Florida.

Democrats in at least a half-dozen other competitive gubernatorial races are making the same case. The moves over the past week to seize on the Supreme Court vacancy show how thoroughly President Donald Trump’s performance and hot-button national issues are driving the debate in the midterms — even in state-level contests.

Graham has been touting her support from NARAL Pro-Choice America, the abortion rights group, in the past week, while primary rival Andrew Gillum has been strategizing about how to protect abortion as governor should Roe be overturned. In Nevada, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Steve Sisolak held an event with the state Democratic Party and NARAL at which he pledged to protect abortion rights in the state. And in Michigan, Democrat Abdul el-Sayed noted that the state still has a pre-Roe law banning abortion and said the next governor needs to “drive forward to take that law off the books.”

In at least seven states, Democrats including Illinois nominee J.B. Pritzker and Colorado nominee Jared Polis, launched digital ads in recent weeks warning that abortion rights could be in jeopardy, while New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo aired an ad on broadcast TV in New York City declaring that the “Trump administration is gearing up to reverse Roe v. Wade.” Cynthia Nixon, who is challenging Cuomo in the Democratic primary, rallied with abortion-rights advocates last week.

“If federal protections are removed, the very presence and legality of reproductive health will become a state issue," Polis said in an interview. "So it really shines [a light on] the importance of governorships and state legislatures for making sure that women have access to a full set of reproductive health options.”

The Democratic pushback has been especially strong in battleground states in which elections are often close but residents also strongly support abortion rights. In a 2014 Pew survey of state-level views on abortion, people in 23 states said by double-digit margins that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Those states include Florida, Maine, Michigan and Nevada, where two-term Republican governors are retiring and Democrats are battling to recapture control of state government.

Michigan Republican front-runner Bill Schuette, the state attorney general, praised Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court in a statement: “What a great decision by President Trump in nominating Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the United States Supreme Court. He is a rule of law, experienced judge who is smart and respects the Constitution — as written.”

In an interview, Schuette spokesman John Selleck said the Republican “is 100 percent pro-life” and that as governor he would enforce Michigan laws including the pre-Roe abortion ban.

“He is not going to guess what a court would do, but as governor he would enforce the laws that are on the books in Michigan today,” Selleck said.

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Republicans in other states have declined to get into specifics about what Kavanaugh might mean for abortion. Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, the state's Republican gubernatorial nominee, has praised Kavanaugh and offered Nevada’s support to other states restricting abortion, but Laxalt’s campaign declined an interview request about the judge’s potential impact on abortion rights.

In Florida, Rep. Ron DeSantis’ campaign ran digital ads praising the selection of Kavanaugh with a link to volunteer for the campaign.

“President Trump's nomination of Brett Kavanaugh is another great example of the President appointing individuals to the bench that respect the Constitution and the rule of law,” an ad on Facebook said.

Former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said the Supreme Court’s pending shift to the right has given Democrats a rare opportunity to rally around the importance of state elections and legislation.

"Democrats have never been able to mobilize the kind of voter excitement around a Supreme Court nomination that Republicans have," said Sebelius, who's backing state Sen. Laura Kelly in Kansas’ divided Democratic primary. She continued: “This may be a different time.”

Phil Cox, former executive director of the Republican Governors Association, said abortion is a tried-and-true motivator for the Democratic base.

“No one should be surprised when Democrats employ scare tactics on abortion to motivate their base. It happens every year in every election,” Cox said, praising Republican candidates for motivating their own base by backing Kavanaugh.

But the possibility of change to the Supreme Court causing a shift in law around the country might make this abortion fight different.

Kelda Roys, a former Wisconsin state legislator now running for governor who also served as executive director of NARAL Wisconsin, has vowed to pardon anyone charged under the state's criminal ban on abortion if federal abortion protections are lifted.

"I have taken a very strong stand that not only will I continue to repeal this abortion ban and the many terrible restrictions that we have placed on many women who need abortion care, but I will pardon anyone who is charged under this archaic law," Roys said.

In New Hampshire, former state Sen. Molly Kelly, who is running for governor, said she would push the legislature to pass specific protections.

"I would immediately urge the legislature to pass legislation that would codify the protections resulting from Roe and say ‘it shall be the public policy of New Hampshire that our state shall not’ — and I’m going to be clear when I say that — ‘shall not restrict a woman exercising a private decision to terminate a pregnancy, and I’m going to be clear about that," Kelly said.

