With abortion on the 2024 ballot, campaigns could see millions in funding from familiar players
Before the Dobbs ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2022, abortion was rarely an issue of such significance in elections that individuals and national political action committees poured millions of dollars into ballot questions and gubernatorial and judicial races. But since Dobbs triggered the fall of Roe and abortion access became a central question in subsequent elections, it has become a much different story, with some familiar players.
And when it comes to cold, hard cash, the abortion rights advocates have had a whole lot more to campaign with, according to state records. Throughout the past year, many of the same high-earning individuals and influential special interest groups on both sides of the political spectrum have contributed millions to these initiatives, and will likely be involved in upcoming elections centered around abortion as well. Specifically, an analysis of campaign finance data shows the latter groups were significantly outspent by special interests as well as individual contributors across the country.
Funding and Influential Special Interest Groups
To understand the financial landscape, consider the following data regarding the organizations and individuals contributing millions to these political initiatives:
| Category | Key Players | Primary Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Progressive Organizations | Sixteen Thirty Fund, Open Society Policy Center, Planned Parenthood, Michael Bloomberg | Help enshrine abortion access |
| Conservative Groups | The Concord Fund, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Catholic institutions | Permanently restricting state access to abortion care |
In Kansas, Ohio and Michigan’s elections, and Kentucky’s race for governor last year, progressive organizations and wealthy individuals all contributed millions to help enshrine abortion access. Conversely, in Kansas, Ohio and Kentucky, influential conservative groups gave millions with a goal of permanently restricting state access to abortion care.
Central Questions in State Elections
Abortion access has been a central question in at least six state elections since the Dobbs decision, including ballot questions in California, Michigan and Vermont that added access to abortion care as an explicit right, and 2023’s gubernatorial race in Kentucky. Additionally, state supreme court races in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania also spotlighted abortion rights, and the candidates supporting those rights won decisively in April and November.
National Attention on Kansas and Ohio
Two state elections with specific abortion-rights elections garnered more national attention than the others — Kansas and Ohio. Kansas held its referendum election in August 2022, a little more than a month after Dobbs. It was the opening salvo on post-Roe abortion politics, and the rest of the country was shocked when voters overwhelmingly said no to an amendment that would have expressly added to the state constitution that Kansans had no right to an abortion.
It was called Amendment 2, or the “Value Them Both” amendment, and it failed by a significant margin, with more than 59% of 1.9 million voters opposed. Following this, in Ohio last year, voters were first asked whether the state should make it much more difficult for citizen initiatives to qualify for the ballot. This ongoing political shift suggests that similar efforts will likely be involved in upcoming elections centered around abortion as well, such as citizen-led initiatives in Florida, Missouri, Arizona and Arkansas.