NEW ORLEANS – As early voting began in Louisiana last week, Taetrece Harrison and her mother waited for the polls to open. Most of the people in line with them were women. Harrison and her mother were both galvanized by this summer's overturning of Roe v. Wade, which triggered Louisiana's near-total ban on abortion. More than 363,000 votes have been cast during the early voting period, which ended November 1.
Louisiana now criminalizes the procedure and prosecutes providers. It only allows exceptions for a substantial risk of life to the pregnant person or when a fetus has a condition incompatible with life outside the womb.
"I think a lot of women are going to come out to vote. There are a lot of organizations that are gathering women who may not have voted in the past. Now they are motivated," said Harrison, who said she is voting because she "doesn't want anyone to tell me what to do with my body."
READ MORE: Which states have abortion on the ballot in November?
In a state where even the Democratic governor, John Bel Edwards, is against abortion, some voters believe laws that prohibit abortion in cases of rape and incest go too far. Nationally, 82 percent of voters oppose such strict laws, according to an October poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
"It's definitely pushing me. As women, we get pushed to the side. Women are starting to step up and really get loud. We need to keep that focus up," Danielle Leger said as she reviewed a sample ballot while standing in line at a New Orleans early voting location, often considered a bright blue dot in a red state. Leger considers herself a Democrat but has voted for Republicans in the past.
Voters stream into early voting locations in Louisianans to cast their ballots at early voting locations for the midterm elections. Early voting in Louisiana ended Tuesday. Photo by Roby Chavez/PBS NewsHour
One of the most notable campaign ads this election cycle came from a pro-abortion-rights candidate. Katie Darling, a newcomer, was seven months pregnant when the Supreme Court overturned Roe with its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson's Women's Health Organization.
In an ad that went viral, Darling, a Democratic candidate challenging Rep. Steve Scalise in Louisiana's 1st Congressional District, showed footage of herself giving birth to her son while criticizing the state's strict abortion ban.
"We should be putting pregnant women at ease, not putting their lives at risk," she asserted in her first-ever campaign ad. The Democrat has said she wanted to champion family values and support abortion access. She told the Washington Post that her goal was to counteract the narrative "that abortion is anti-child or anti-family."
Most political experts believe the race is an uphill battle for Darling. Scalise, who has held the seat for 14 years, had raised $18 million as of September, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. In 2020, Scalise won reelection with 72 percent of the vote; he is currently the second-ranked Republican in the House and would be a strong contender for majority leader should the GOP regain control of the House.
Scalise supported the overturning of Roe and has repeatedly voted for anti-abortion legislation. In recent years, he has co-sponsored federal "personhood" bills that would have legally recognized fertilized eggs, embryos, and fetuses as human beings from the moment of conception.
Experts will be watching the midterm results to see how much the renewed focus on abortion has shifted the political landscape in Louisiana and whether the results reflect opposition to the state's strict ban.
Shift in attitudes
A statewide survey conducted months before the Dobbs ruling indicated a shift in attitudes toward abortion. In 2016, 40 percent of Louisiana's adult residents said abortion should be legal in all or most cases; 55 percent said the procedure should be illegal in all or most cases. Six years later, those figures are 46 and 49 percent, respectively, according to annual research released in April by the LSU Public Policy Research Lab.
The researchers behind the survey said the most dramatic change in positions on abortion rights was among Democrats. Their support for legal access has risen from 51 to 74 percent since 2016. Republicans' stance, however, has remained largely the same, with 69 percent saying abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. Among independents, support for legal abortion access rose from 40 to 47 percent over the last six years, although a larger share – 50 percent – still believe it should be illegal.
"The abortion ruling certainly has mobilized a significant portion of the electorate, not just women, but also men who are very concerned about it," said Silas Lee, a sociologist at Xavier University of Louisiana and longtime Louisiana political pollster. "And with that is the subtext that people are fearful that some other rights they are accustomed to could be eroded or eliminated."
"We still live in a partisan environment," Lee said, "and in some cases, [support for abortion is] strictly on party lines. But nothing is absolute right now."
WATCH: The End of Roe: A PBS NewsHour Special Report
State Democratic leaders believe the Dobbs ruling is playing a major role in energizing women voters. They argue that it's not impossible to get Democrats elected. Democratic Gov. Edwards, after all, has been elected twice.
"Not only are we registering more voters than we have in a long time, but we are also seeing women as a much more significant part of that new registration class," said Katie Bernhardt, chair of the Louisiana Democratic Party.
Bernhardt says considerable shifts will be seen in the next two election cycles once the impact of Louisiana's abortion ban becomes more evident.
"We're gonna see it in our legislative races and in our statewide races next year. … Women will be dying from lack of care. Doctors are afraid to act. We're going to have these horror stories, and it's going to touch more and more lives in the state," Bernhardt said.
Republican Party leaders in the Pelican State agree that the midterms will draw more attention than most, but "nothing is being taken for granted."
"You can't write anyone off. You have to be visible, and you have to be messaging everywhere all the time. We still have to fight for our victories here," said Louis Gurvich, chairman of the Republican Party of Louisiana. "There's nothing that you win by default. We take every election as if we're starting from 20 points behind, and we fight it hard."
Gurvich believes the numbers are on the Republicans' side, and he doesn't anticipate any major shifts in power. Still, he expects high voter turnout and an "intense" election.
"Louisiana starts out the day as a very strong anti-abortion state. In that way, we have some advantages that most other states don't have," Gurvich said. "I would say the abortion issue is so well-defined, and there are very minor nuances. Most folks have made up their minds."
Meanwhile, Republicans shift focus to crime
Abortion is sharing the spotlight with issues like the economy and inflation, which polls show have shifted voters' focus in recent weeks. However, in interviews with a half-dozen Louisiana voters, all mentioned crime as one of their top concerns, which could help Republican candidates who prefer it as a messaging strategy.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-Madisonville, is one candidate taking that approach. In a recent ad, he says, "Woke leaders blame the police. I blame the criminals," and "The next time you get in trouble, call a crackhead." His opponents heavily criticized the ad for its racist dog whistles."
Voters like Taetrece Harrison are focused on crime, too. "It seems like the leaders are not really paying attention," she said. "It's not a one-person problem, it takes a village, but you have to have leaders that are willing to work together to solve the problems."
Kennedy, a first-term senator whose seat is considered safe, has the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. And his campaign has reported raising $36 million with $15.5 million cash on hand for his reelection bid —10 times as much as his top three Democratic challengers combined. Kennedy faces a crowded field of Democratic opponents, including Gary Chambers, Luke Mixon and Syrita Steib.
Louisiana Republicans believe concerns about crime and the economy give them an edge with voters.
"It's about the economy first, and the next issues are inflation and crime," Gurvich said. "That's where the voters are focused."
Democratic leaders see that as an empty tactic.
"I think that's the M.O.; 'that discussion [abortion] makes us uncomfortable and our stance isn't consistent with the majority of voters, so we're gonna talk about something else,'" Bernhardt said.
Overall, inflation is the No. 1 priority among registered voters, according to poll figures from the PBS NewsHour, NPR and Marist released one week before Election Day. Democratic and Republican voters are not aligned on what matters most. Fifty-four percent of Republicans see inflation as the top issue, as do 40 percent of independents, while 42 percent of Democrats say preserving democracy is their biggest voting issue. Crime, the poll indicated, is a lower priority, with 6 percent of Republicans, 8 percent of Democrats and 8 percent of independents citing it as their top issue in this election.
Abortion was the top priority for 14 percent of voters, including 22 percent of Democrats. It ranked third among the top issues overall.
Image by Megan McGrew/PBS NewsHour
Senate candidate Luke Mixon, who describes himself as "personally pro-life," has Gov. Edwards' endorsement. The former fighter pilot has repeatedly attacked Kennedy for his opposition to abortion and his refusal to certify the 2020 election results. A Mixon ad says that if he is elected, he would "codify Roe and protect women's health care," adding the current laws are too extreme.
Louisiana has a "majority-vote" primary system that pits all candidates against one another on Nov. 8. If Kennedy wins more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary, he wins reelection. His opponents hope to get him into a runoff.
The drive to register voters
The electoral optimism from both parties arises in part from increases in voter registration as Republican and Democratic leaders vie to keep attention on their preferred issues.
Grassroots organizations on both sides are getting an earful at voter registration drives. The registration drives have been huge; one, at the historic matchup between Southern University and LSU this fall, attracted more than 100,000 people. Members of the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice spread out among tailgaters at the football game to sign up voters.
A sign reminds New Orleanians to "Geaux Vote." Grassroots organizations have ramped up efforts to get out the vote. Photo by Roby Chavez/PBS Newshour
"We tried to make things as easy and consumable as possible by having conversations with families about why it's important to vote. Voters are looking for accountability, and voters acutely understand what's happening right now," said Ashley Kennedy Shelton, founder and CEO of the Power Coalition. "Folks love to say, 'I don't do politics, I'm not political,' but I say, 'Well, your electricity bill is political at this point. You got to be part of the fight for something better.'"
Jacqueline Carroll-Jones, executive director of the Jeremiah Group, said "registration is inspiring activism," especially among young people. The nonpartisan community group conducts voter registration events in the community and at 19 Jefferson Parish schools just outside of New Orleans.
"I think the level of interest Is growing. More and more is being done to engage, educate and inform students about the importance of voting," Carroll-Jones said. "Especially for this election, voter registration is alive and well, but voter suppression is just as alive and well."
Louisiana has seen some increases in voter registration, but the numbers are muted by an exodus of residents leaving the state, in part, following the multiple hurricanes that have hit the area. From May through September, 30,275 new voters registered — 54.7 percent of them women. Over a longer time period, during the past 18 months, the overall number of registered voters in Louisiana decreased by 84,980 voters, with men and women dropping off proportionately, according to data the Louisiana Secretary of State's office provided to the PBS NewsHour.
The population loss has meant a renewed focus on voter registration to give people a voice in the future of a state with significant challenges. Since 2015, the Power Coalition has been pushing people toward civic engagement and educating voters about the power of their voice. Organizers say midterms are usually "low-energy and attract little attention," but not this time.
"I do think the anger and the frustration is building … I think at this point it's about whether you and your family make it or not," Kennedy Shelton said. "This is bigger than just party politics. This is about the future of this country."
Meanwhile, voters like Danielle Leger believe that, whichever party wins, it's time for politicians to focus on policy over partisan politics.
"I think people are just fed up. People are tired, and people want things to be better," Leger said. "People just want everyone to do the right thing and move us in the right direction."