Indiana Democrats pin legislative gains on abortion debate

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Even before Republican legislators this summer made Indiana the first state to pass an abortion ban since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Democrats started urging angry voters to take their revenge at the ballot box.

Indiana Democrats haven’t let up on that push in the final days of this year’s elections, although a limited number of competitive races on the Nov. 8 ballot for the currently Republican-dominated Legislature leave them with slim chances of being able to do much about abortion access that is also being debated during campaigns across the country.

Indiana Republicans, meanwhile, argue that voters are more worried about other issues such as inflation and crime — concerns widely believed to favor the GOP.

Democratic candidate Joey Mayer said the abortion ban has remained a top issue as she’s talked with voters in a northern Indianapolis suburban district where she’s challenging a four-term Republican House member who voted in favor of the ban when it passed in August.

“Many people that I have met through door-knocking that identify as a Libertarian or a lifelong Republican have said, ‘I’m done, I’m done. This is ridiculous overreach,’” Mayer said.

The state Supreme Court has allowed abortions to continue in Indiana while it considers a lawsuit from abortion clinic operators arguing that the ban violates the state constitution.

Mayer, a business consultant from Westfield, said the blocking of the abortion ban only slowed down talk about it among voters for a couple days.

“Then people were like, ‘This doesn’t fix the problem’ and it seemed like everybody started to get spun up again,” Mayer said.

Republicans go into the election with a 71-29 Indiana House majority and a 39-11 state Senate advantage, giving them...