Democrats are looking to restart the abortion conversation around the third anniversary of the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.

That Supreme Court decision in June 2022 turned abortion into one of the most powerful positions Democrats could run on. They saw major victories on the issue in the 2022 midterms and Virginia’s off-year elections in 2023, but the party largely underperformed up and down the ballot on the issue with key groups in November.

The politics of abortion have shifted, and while Democrats and abortion rights activists say it's important to call out Republican attacks on abortion access, they also acknowledge it's not the same rallying cry they had hoped it would be in the lead-up to the 2024 election.

“I wouldn't say abortion isn't a winning message; ballot initiatives supporting abortion rights won in most places in November. Democrats just didn't anticipate that voters would support abortion rights and Trump,” Democratic strategist Christy Setzer said in an email.

Setzer said she doesn’t think Democrats should stop talking about abortion. But it’s now competing with other emergencies, and they need to adjust the message.

Democrats are fighting the Trump administration and congressional Republicans on a host of issues including Medicaid cuts and the GOP tax and spending bill, deportations, defunding foreign aid, and the efforts of the........

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