Lawmakers react to Supreme Court draft leak and possible impact on primary elections
The topic of abortion is sensitive for a lot of people.
With the leak of the Supreme Court draft opinion that suggested a majority of justices are prepared to overturn Roe v. Wade, many people are outraged.
Some lawmakers believe it will cause voters to switch parties for the upcoming primary elections; while others don't see a change happening due to laws that protect abortion rights in Illinois.
Democratic House Representative Margaret Croke said there are many issues both republicans and democrats can agree on, but abortion is not one of them.
She believes more voters during this next election will choose Democratic candidates.
"Voters respond well to anything that has to do with the privacy of their homes being attacked," Rep. Croke, 12th District. "Those sorts of things going to be more important to them than a fiscal issue for many people."
Meanwhile Republican House Representative Dan Caulkins believes this event wouldn't change voters' minds since there is legislation in Illinois that support abortion.
"The Democrats have passed bills over the last couple of years that have enshrined Roe v. Wade into our laws", said Rep. Caulkins, 101th District.
Political Science Professor Aleksander Ksiazkiewicz, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, says a candidate's stance on an issue is usually a deciding factor on which party a voter will go with even if it comes with a loss on a different issue.
"Voters can try to express to candidates an issue they care about, but ultimately when you're voting you're choosing a bundle of voting positions," said Ksiazkiewicz. "Sometimes that means you have to make a compromise on some of those issues"
