Abortion the Primary Issue for One in Six Voters

According to a new Gallup poll, nearly one in 10 registered voters in America say they will only support pro-life candidates who share their position on abortion, a number that is larger than the corresponding data for pro-choice voters, Baptist Press reports. Specifically, 9 percent of registered voters say they will only support pro-life candidates who oppose abortion while 7 percent of all voters say they will only back pro-choice candidates who support legalized abortion. In total, about one in six voters in America are single-issue voters on abortion. Gallup's Lydia Saad called it a "slight pro-life tilt, albeit one that could potentially benefit pro-life Republican candidate Mitt Romney." Gallup historical data shows the issue has benefited pro-life candidates in every presidential election dating back to 1996, with pro-lifers ahead by 2 percentage points in every election except for 2004, when 12 percent of voters said they'd only support pro-life candidates and 5 percent said they'd only support pro-choice ones. In 2008, the issue favored pro-lifers, 7 percent to 5 percent.