Fight for abortion rights means money in the bank | Steve Bousquet
Democrats from as far away as New Hampshire see a fundraising opportunity in using the Florida abortion rights initiative as a way to raise money.
Maggie Hassan is a U.S. senator from New Hampshire who doesn’t have to face voters for four more years.
But this Democrat from New England has hit on what she hopes is a sure-fire way to raise campaign money.
She’s piggy-backing onto “Yes on 4,” the statewide referendum to enshrine abortion rights in the Florida Constitution, which polls show has solid support across the political spectrum, but especially among Democrats.
In an email blast this week, Hassan told potential donors that if they write her a check, half of the money will go to the abortion rights initiative that got a procedural green light from a four-member majority on the Florida Supreme Court.
“This is a monumental step in our fight and was our final hurdle to put limiting government interference with abortion on the ballot in November,” Hassan said in a pitch sent the day after the court’s ruling. “With our sights now set on the election, it’s crucial that we raise every last dollar to help ‘YES’ win.”
The emphasis on government interference is a winning message for abortion rights supporters. So is another rallying cry, defending personal freedom.
Hassan isn’t the only Democrat who sees a potential political bounty in tying her political prospects to abortion rights in Florida.
U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Parkland, campaigning for a second term, sent a similar email blast to potential donors.
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, the Miami Democrat challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, made a similar pitch. Mucarsel-Powell circulated a Scott radio interview where he danced around his past support for a six-week ban.
But the Florida Democratic Party beat them all to the punch.
Barely one hour after Monday afternoon’s Supreme Court decision to put Amendment 4 on the November ballot — a ruling some Democrats did not think possible from such a conservative court packed with Ron DeSantis appointees — the party was asking for money for “Yes on 4.”
“Defend our freedom,” the pitch from party chair Nikki Fried said in big blue type.
These solicitations for money, directly tied to a ballot initiative, are yet another sign of a shifting political landscape in Florida in 2024.
If they succeed, they have the potential to drag Democrats out of the fundraising doldrums .
But more than money, Democrats hope that Amendment 4 and a second ballot question, Amendment 3, legalizing recreational marijuana for people 21 and over, have the potential to galvanize voters.
That includes pro-choice women and young people who may not be enthusiastic about either Donald Trump or President Joe Biden.
To be sure, passage of either amendment is far from a sure thing. Florida requires a supermajority of 60% for constitutional amendments to pass, and anti-abortion groups will mount a ferocious effort to defeat Amendment 4.
But Republicans in Florida are on the wrong side of public opinion on abortion rights.
DeSantis broke his silence on the issue this week at an event in Davie.
He said Floridians will never legalize recreational pot use or abortion up to the point of viability or when a fetus can survive outside the womb, or about 24 weeks, when they discover how “radical” both of them are.
“They’re going to fail,” DeSantis said. “They are very, very extreme.”
Speaking of extreme, the Supreme Court’s rejection of Planned Parenthood’s challenge to a 15-week abortion ban means that a much more restrictive six-week ban will take effect.
The six-week ban creates more much-needed political momentum for Amendment 4.
As others have noted, DeSantis’ guarantee of the outcome of any election has to be tempered by his prediction that he was also going to defeat Donald Trump in Iowa. He got 21% of the vote, less than half of Trump’s total.
“We’re going to win here in Iowa. We have the organization in place,” DeSantis told Fox News in December.
It will be very interesting to see how much of his own political capital DeSantis is willing to spend trying to knock down both of these amendments.
His popularity slipped in recent months, and among Republican voters nationally, DeSantis went from rock star to rock bottom in near-record time.
He’s still far and away the state’s best-known politician, but he simply can’t afford another huge political defeat. That’s how the presence of Amendment 4 on the Florida ballot changes the political narrative.
Republicans are worried for a change, as they should be.
Steve Bousquet is Opinion Editor of the Sun Sentinel and a columnist in Tallahassee and Fort Lauderdale. Contact him at sbousquet@sunsentinel.com or (850) 567-2240 and follow him on X @stevebousquet.