A group of Pennsylvania women voters who backed former President Donald Trump in 2020 and support abortion rights said in focus group interviews that they do not see their views on abortion as a barrier to voting for Trump again in 2024.
It’s an illuminating window into how a group of potential swing voters (former Trump voters concerned about abortion access) are approaching one of Democrats’ key issues ahead of the next election. Despite labeling abortion as an important issue facing women in the United States, the majority of women who participated in the two focus groups said they would support Trump in a rematch against President Joe Biden, explaining that other issues are more important for your vote.
And, more importantly, participants largely refused to hold Trump responsible for the end of Roe v. Wade, although he named three of the five Supreme Court justices who upheld the June 2022 decision.
Importantly, however, two of the 15 Pennsylvanians who voted for Trump in 2020 said they would not do so again, citing his personal behavior, his conduct after the 2020 election, and Trump’s “business antics.”
The findings come from two focus groups produced in collaboration with Engagious, Syracuse University and Sago as part of the NBC News Deciders Focus Group series. These two focus groups heard from 15 different Pennsylvania voters who said they voted for Trump in 2020 but also opposed the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.
A national NBC News poll last year showed that 61% of all registered voters disapprove of the 2022 Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe, including 31% of women who say they voted for Trump in 2020. It was an important part of the Democrats’ midterm performance in 2022. both to motivate Democrats and to win decisive votes. And abortion also figures as a major part of Biden’s re-election speech.
But for focus group participants, the issue was far from a guarantee of converting support for Trump.
For many of the women, abortion is not a major issue that will decide their vote in the 2024 general election, even among those who openly criticized the court for overturning those abortion protections. Only three of the 15 women held Trump at least partially responsible for the court’s decision. And many do not believe Trump would seek to sign a future federal abortion ban into law.
“I think people should have their own right to choose what they want to do with their own bodies. But I mean, it’s not the number one factor in who I’m going to vote for,” Stacey M., a 50-year-old woman from Philadelphia, told the group.
“I know I’m a woman and I should have more of a say in this, but honestly, I don’t care as much as someone else might.”
Sarah E., a 35-year-old woman from Creaco who is pregnant with her second child, told the group that the issue did not weigh on her when choosing her vote.
“To me it means nothing in the grand scheme of everything. I’m going to vote for who I think will do the best for my family,” she said.
Just minutes earlier, Sarah said the 2022 Supreme Court decision striking down a national minimum for abortion rights made her worry about her 14-year-old son and that “one mistake” could “derail” his life without freedom. to access an abortion. But she said she was more concerned about other issues when deciding her vote.
Weighing abortion alongside other issues
In the focus group, moderated by Engagious President Rich Thau and produced in collaboration with the Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship at Syracuse University, the group of women largely shared Sarah’s sentiment: The decision may have been a step backwards for women’s rights, they said, but it does not influence their vote much.
A Trump campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, last year.Lindsay DeDario Archive / Reuters
“I think it’s one less thing the government has to worry about; It should be a woman’s choice, not the government’s. “We are going back in time to before the 1960s, when birth control was illegal and, thank God, it is now legal,” Kathi T., 62, of Shickshinny.
Given Trump’s past statements taking credit for overturning Roe vs. Wade, Kathi responded, “Vomite.”
But when asked how his views on abortion and Trump influenced his vote, he said it was “unfortunately” the fifth most important issue on his mind when it came to his 2024 election.
While the women disagreed with the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade largely said they were comfortable with some restrictions on abortion, including a national ban at one point.
Most participants said they were comfortable with banning abortion after 15 weeks, with exceptions for victims of rape and incest, as well as when the mother’s health is at risk. But some women cautioned that it was too soon, pointing to their own personal experiences of not knowing they were pregnant at eight weeks, or in one case for the entire first trimester, because she was breastfeeding her baby when she became pregnant again.
Both the economy and immigration weighed much more heavily on the minds of most women when discussing their vote in November.
“The prices of everything have gone up, and the cost of living is going up like crazy and it’s not being compensated in our jobs, or in our work, or in our salary,” said Lisa G., a 47-year-old woman from Schwenksville.
On immigration, respondents largely expressed frustration with the idea that U.S. resources were being spent on immigrants from other countries, particularly when they believe Americans face so many economic challenges. Some had harsh words for immigrants who stuck closely to Trump’s own language, lamenting that they “bring drugs” and “viruses” and questioning whether terrorists were taking advantage of the situation at the border to “establish cells in our country.”
“It shows that as a country we are not in control,” said Mary Beth G., a 69-year-old woman from Springfield.
“To the rest of the world it makes us look weak, that we can’t even control who comes into our country,” he continued. “Our enemies will take advantage of that.”
The 2024 election
Twelve of the 15 women said they would vote for Trump rather than Biden or the leading independent and third-party candidates if the presidential general election were held today. Overall, these voters had deeply negative opinions of Biden, calling him “old,” “incompetent,” “slow,” and “sleepy.” And they had even more unflattering things to say about Vice President Kamala Harris, describing her as “useless” and a “puppet.”
That contrasts with more positive views of Trump, referring to him as “brave,” “powerful” and “comedian.”
“He did so much more for our country than any other president and he takes risks. I just really like it,” said Helen M., 51, of Philadelphia.
Still, some of the women who endorsed Trump expressed disappointment or apathy about his presidential election.
Angie R., a 42-year-old woman from Mont Clare, said she is seriously considering not voting, although she said if she had to choose between Trump, Biden, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Cornel West and Jill Stein, she would choose Trump.
“Sometimes I think, what’s the point? They all suck, but you have the worst of all evils,” she said of the election for president.
Two 2020 Trump voters in the group said they definitely would not support the former president in 2020, calling him “arrogant” and “erratic.”
Mary Beth G. completely dismissed both Trump and Biden: “I think both Trump and Biden are horrible candidates. “I think our country deserves better.”