Planned Parenthood is launching a $10 million voter engagement campaign in North Carolina, aiming to support candidates who uphold abortion rights in the state.
The campaign, led by Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic, Planned Parenthood Votes, and Planned Parenthood Action PAC NC, will involve extensive door-to-door outreach, digital advertisements, and the establishment of new field offices. This substantial investment marks the largest-ever commitment by the organization to a single state.
With the proliferation of strict abortion bans in states like Arizona and Florida and efforts to introduce abortion-related measures on state ballots, Democrats are mobilizing around the issue of reproductive rights. They hope that emphasizing abortion access will energize voters and bolster support for Democratic candidates across North Carolina.
The Biden-Harris campaign has also been leveraging the abortion issue to contrast with former President Trump’s record, attributing the erosion of Roe v. Wade and subsequent state-level restrictions to his administration’s policies.
Although abortion is currently legal in North Carolina up to 12 weeks and six days of pregnancy, Democrats are concerned about potential threats to reproductive healthcare under anti-abortion Republican leadership.
While abortion itself may not be directly on the ballot in North Carolina this November, Democrats are sounding alarms about the broader implications for reproductive rights.
President Biden’s reelection campaign is actively working to flip North Carolina, a state that Trump won in both 2016 and 2020.
Despite recent polling indicating a lead for Trump, Governor Roy Cooper remains optimistic about Biden’s prospects in the state. However, the Biden campaign acknowledges the need for relentless efforts to reach and mobilize voters ahead of the November elections.