Supreme Court abortion ruling: Key implications that could benefit Democrats

Yahoo Finance columnist Rick Newman weighs in on the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and what this could mean for Democrats heading into the midterm elections.

Video transcript

RACHELLE AKUFFO: Well, now we turn to the political implications of Roe versus Wade being overturned with Yahoo Finance's Rick Newman. Now, Rick, with a number of state elections, upcoming midterms, how much is this Supreme Court decision going to affect what happens at the polls?

RICK NEWMAN: There are a lot of analysts trying to game this out right now, Rachelle, and honestly, they have no idea. The main takeaway at this point is that-- on two big issues-- abortion and gun rights or gun laws. The Supreme Court is considerably out of step with public opinion on this. The public wants to-- thinks Roe v. Wade should have stayed legal. And the public thinks that there should be more protections against gun violence.

And of course, the Supreme Court had these two momentous decisions going in the opposite direction. So that probably favors Democrats, but when you get into the nitty gritty and try to connect the dots of, can they actually convert that into electoral success or better electoral success than they would otherwise have, it gets very murky.

And my own opinion is, it would be a huge mistake for Democrats to think just because the Supreme Court ruled kind of against public opinion on these two issues, that Democrats will automatically-- that they will automatically help them in the upcoming midterm elections. I don't think that's the case. I think for many voters, the economy will remain the biggest issues. And Democrats cannot forget about that, or they're going to get shellacked.

DAVE BRIGGS: Speaking of murky, Rick, some data coming out today that leaves you very confused over what may happen in the midterms and well beyond that. And one is those switching party affiliation. Republicans with a massive gain, but on the other hand, a generic ballot that completely flipped from recent months that shows Democrats with a seven-point advantage in terms of just generic, which party you prefer to control Congress. What is your takeaway from these two completely opposite numbers?

RICK NEWMAN: Well, Dave, you correctly put an asterisk on that word "generic" in your tone of voice there. So this is an AP analysis today that found that, as you pointed out, just in terms of voter registration during the last year, Republicans have picked up on net when you consider all the people switching both ways. They have picked up about a million new voters. And a lot of those are concentrated in suburbs, which should ring alarm bells for Democrats, because Biden did very well in the suburbs and especially with suburban women in 2020. That was one of the key things that helped him win in 2020.

Now that analysis came before the Roe v. Wade decision and the gun rights decision and everything that is going to be affecting the way people are thinking about this for the next five or six months. So who knows what's going to happen in that aftermath?

And let's remember, a lot of times, it is moderate Republicans or moderate Democrats voting against party that swing an election, or it could be independents. There are a lot of people. You have to remember, independents, they may lean toward one party or another. But that is a huge chunk of voters these days. Because, honestly, people are disgusted with both parties. And I think they should be disgusted with both parties.

DAVE BRIGGS: Yeah, I think we're all united over that. The one caveat I want to add, the two biggest states that gained voters, gained Republicans, were Pennsylvania and Florida, two pivotal states, as we move forward, certainly, in the midterms. Rick Newman, always good to see you, sir. Thank you.

RICK NEWMAN: See you guys.