Montana becomes the latest abortion battleground state for 2024
A new abortion rights advocacy organization, Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights, officially launched its ballot initiative, which aims to enshrine abortion rights in Montana’s state constitution. If the petition drive succeeds, it will make abortion central to the 2024 campaign and likely give vulnerable Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, a staunch abortion rights supporter, a boost.
“Abortion is a topic that’s become politicized and stigmatized, but in reality, we all love someone or are someone who’s had an abortion,” Martha Fuller, CEO and president of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana, said during the official launch event. “We can no longer let politicians threaten access to the lifesaving, essential care that thousands of Montanans need and deserve. Montanans must act now to proactively secure our right to abortion.”
If the group succeeds in gaining enough qualified signatures for the ballot, it will join about a dozen states in making abortion a driving issue in the 2024 campaign, potentially salvaging the Democrats’ Senate majority. Montana would be joining battleground states where Democrats are on defense, including Arizona and Nevada.
The Senate Democrats’ campaign arm has already reserved $2 million in radio ads for Tester, part of the more than $300 million that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and associated super PACs are spending, not just to defend the majority but to grow it. And abortion is going to be key to both aims.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/4/18/2235905/-Montana-becomes-the-latest-abortion-battleground-state-for-2024
