(NewsNation) — Kansans on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to protect abortion rights, rejecting a constitutional amendment that would have given the legislature the authority to ban the procedure.
The vote margin of 58% to 42% was the most surprising element of the outcome, considering pre-election polling had proponents of the amendment favored to prevail. However, the vote margin is reflective of broader public opinion on abortion rights.
Polls over the last decade have shown most Americans support abortion rights in some fashion, and in June, the Pew Research Center reported that six in 10 Americans said abortion should be legal in most or all cases.
Kansans showed themselves to be moderate, issue-oriented voters, like so many other Americans. The bottom line is that 61% percent of Americans support the right to an abortion with some limitations, and that is directly in line with the Kansas results.
It was a day for what I call the marginalized moderate majority — Americans who vote issue by issue and who despise the political extremes dominating the national conversation.