U.S. Senate Election in N.C. – What is Coming for Abortion Rights?

Written By Nikki Mahendru

Sam Weitzel

The highly competitive North Carolina midterm election was pivotal for abortion policy. As a college student, the names Cheri Beasley and Ted Budd (N.C.’s U.S. Senate candidates) were especially frequent topics of conversation on campus. The U.S. Senate race was a huge focus across the country. This midterm election was even more significant because of the recent overturn of Roe v. Wade. Since the elections have now ended, what do the results mean for reproductive rights?

All in all, voter turnout for N.C. was 3,745,547 residents (1). The total registered voter population for N.C. is approximately 7.4 million residents (2).  For the Senate election, Ted Budd won against Cheri Beasley by winning 50.71% of the state’s vote (2). Ted Budd is the Republican candidate, but will now be a member of a Democrat-controlled Senate. He has right-leaning views on reproductive rights, but it will be interesting to see how far they go as the political party minority. 

Senator-elect Ted Budd is a pro-life advocate, and it is expected that his viewpoints will translate into action as a congressman. His pro-life opinions center around guaranteeing the life of the fetus by not allowing access to abortion. In October 2022, Ted Budd clarified his views on abortion and what that would look like as a reproductive right if in office. He co-sponsored a bill that prohibits abortion past 15 weeks, and in most interviews, he is not in support of abortions in the case of rape or incest unless the mother’s health is endangered (3). On the other end, Cheri Beasley ran on an opposite platform. She was in support of codifying Roe v. Wade and believes that the decision on abortions should be left to women and physicians, not “politicians up in Washington” (4). She criticized Ted Budd for believing that he had a place in that decision. 

Clearly, female reproductive rights, specifically regarding abortion, were on the line in this election. This is made apparent by the voting differences between males and females in the Senate election. Female voters were significantly more invested in Cheri Beasley, with 53% of all female voters casting their ballot for her as compared to the male votes of 41% (5). But that difference for Cheri Beasley was not enough, and Ted Budd did claim the N.C. Senate seat.

Moving forward, it’s not entirely clear what this will mean for choices made in the U.S. Senate. Ted Budd’s role is a little more convoluted without a Republican majority. The fall of Roe v. Wade was a major platform that Democrats ran on, and the party was able to use that to their advantage. Specifically, women and young people had significant voter turnout, many expressing their anger and frustration over the violation of reproductive rights (6). Democratic candidates just elected to Senate plan to advance the codification of abortion rights in the United States.

While the N.C. election was significant in determining the state’s stance on abortion access, on the national level, it may not have as much of an impact. But in N.C., this opens up the possibility for the retraction of abortion access in the future. Governor Roy Cooper, currently in office with 2 years left in term, has been determined to protect access to abortions through executive acts and other means (8). The election of Ted Budd does pose a threat to N.C. abortion access, as he advocates for a pro-life platform in the U.S. as well as in North Carolina.

In addition, the N.C. state senate now has a Republican supermajority, meaning they can override Cooper’s vetoes. Combined with the state house that is one seat from a Republican majority, this means there will be a struggle in the state over abortion access (9). Depending on how Democrats in the state congress vote, abortion access may be under attack through the next terms of office. Even with Roy Cooper’s dedication to preserving access, there can be no promises after this midterm election that he will be able to succeed.

References

  1. Election results. NCSBE. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://www.ncsbe.gov/results-data 

  2. Who are North Carolina's 7.4 million registered voters? Carolina Demography. (2022, November 4). Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://www.ncdemography.org/2022/11/04/who-are-north-carolinas-7-4-million-registered-voters/ 

  3. North Carolina's 2022 midterm election results. Smith Anderson. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://www.smithlaw.com/news-3758 

  4. Norcross, A. J. (2022, October 17). North Carolina's GOP Senate candidate slams dems abortion Bill, pushes for near-total ban. wcnc.com. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/flashpoint/ted-budd-abortion-exceptions-for-the-life-of-the-mother/275-10a98ec1-f567-44c0-829a-237836bf4774 

  5. Ben Thompson, A. (2022, October 21). US Senate candidate Cheri Beasley on abortion: No room for budd in that decision. wcnc.com. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/flashpoint/us-senate-candidate-cheri-beasley-abortion-ted-budd/275-3aa48e8d-daba-4756-bb4e-73b297a61f31 

  6. NBCUniversal News Group. (2022, November 13). North Carolina senate midterm election 2022: Live results and updates. NBCNews.com. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-elections/north-carolina-senate-results 

  7. Guardian News and Media. (2022, November 12). How the fall of Roe Shattered Republicans' midterm dreams. The Guardian. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/11/abortion-midterm-elections-republicans-women-voters 

  8. Schoenbaum, H. (2022, July 6). NC governor Signs Executive Order Protecting Abortion Access. AP NEWS. Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-north-carolina-6b56a07999dd85195a929b254949d254 

  9. WFAE | By Claire Donnelly. (2022, November 18). North Carolina's election results mean fight over abortion laws likely to intensify. WFAE 90.7 - Charlotte's NPR News Source. Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://www.wfae.org/politics/2022-11-09/north-carolinas-election-results-mean-fight-over-abortion-laws-likely-to-intensify 

Nikki Mahendru
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