Ex Obama Strategist Predicts Arizona Supreme Court Ruling Could ‘Tip This Election’

A top Democratic operative is warning that the Arizona Supreme Court’s decision to uphold an 1864 pro-life law will cause an electoral “earthquake” in November. Former Obama White House strategist and CNN contributor David Axelrod said on Tuesday that the Court’s decision “could not be more of a disaster for the Republican Party.”

Axelrod noted, “Yesterday, Donald Trump said it’s up to the people in the states, let the states decide. Well, here you find what happens when you let the states decide.” He continued, “In Florida, a six-week ban is in place. I guarantee you in both those states, if you put that on the ballot — and they will be on the ballot in the form of initiatives — that a majority of voters in those states do not agree with those policies.”

He continued, “So I think what this does is it puts a battleground state more in the leaning ‘D’ column than the leaning ‘R’ column, because I think there’s going to be a massive turnout in November for a constitutional amendment in the state of Arizona because the voters of Arizona now have a demonstration of the fragility of abortion rights in the post Dobbs era. I think this is an earthquake, those electoral votes in Arizona could be the ones that tip this election.”

The Arizona state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that an 1864 law outlawing abortion could go into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court dismantled Roe v. Wade in 2022. After former President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he believed abortion should be addressed at the state level, numerous Arizona Republicans denounced the court’s pro-life decision. U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake (R-Ariz.) issued a statement saying, “I wholeheartedly agree with President Trump — this is a very personal issue that should be determined by each individual state and her people. I oppose today’s ruling…” She added, “Ultimately, Arizona voters will make the decision on the ballot come November.”

Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.) issued a similar statement, saying, “Today’s ruling is a disaster for women and providers.” He continued, “In Arizona, our 15 week law protected the rights of women and new life. It respected women and the difficult decision of ending a pregnancy — one I will never personally experience and won’t pretend to understand.” Ciscomani concluded, “The territorial law is archaic. We must do better for women and I call on our state policymakers to immediately address this in a bipartisan manner.” Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) also issued a statement, writing, “I do not support today’s ruling from the AZ Supreme Court. This issue should be decided by Arizonans, not legislated from the bench. I encourage the state legislature to address this issue immediately.”

Democrats, however, are continuing their extensive pro-abortion campaigning. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) last week published a memo listing 18 congressional districts across seven states where abortion initiatives will likely be on the ballot in November. Arizona is one of those seven states and both Ciscomani’s and Schweikert’s districts were targeted by name.