Abortion has emerged as the most important issue in the November election for women under 30, according to a survey by KFF — a notable change since late spring, before Vice President Kamala Harris entered the presidential race.
Nearly four in 10 women under 30 surveyed in September and early October told pollsters that abortion is the most important issue to their vote.
Just 20% named abortion as their top issue when KFF conducted a similar survey in late May and early June.
The new survey found other shifts among women voters that stand to benefit Harris, including an increase of 24 percentage points in the number of women who said they were satisfied with their choice of candidates and a 19-point increase in the number who said they were more motivated to vote than in previous presidential elections.
The changes suggest a significant setback among women in just a few months for former President Donald Trump.
“It looks worse for Donald Trump than it did back in June,” said Ashley Kirzinger, director of survey methodology at KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News. “Harris becoming the Democratic presidential nominee energized women voters in a way that the Biden candidacy had not.”