Since Roe vs. Wade was overturned, a number of Republican-led states have passed laws that prohibit abortion after 6 weeks of pregnancy or when a fetal heartbeat can be detected (though many of these laws have been blocked in court). According to June polling from Harris Poll for the Harvard University Center for American Political Studies, Republicans favor similar laws in their states by a margin of 30 percentage points (65 percent support and 35 percent oppose).
-Analysis by FiveThirtyEight

DeSantis brushed off concerns that his signing a six-week abortion ban in Florida will hurt him on the national stage.

"I would say we sold the biggest election landslide victory in the history of the Republican party and the state of Florida in 2022," DeSantis countered. "That's what I did. We can win."

DeSantis argued "we're better than what the Democrats are selling" but ultimately demurred on whether he'd support a six-week ban at the national level.

"I will stand on the side of life," he responded.

DeSantis wouldn’t directly answer when the moderators asked him if he would sign a national abortion ban, and Pence pounced. He comes from the social conservative wing of the party, and supports a national ban. This isn’t the first time Pence has criticized DeSantis for not being conservative enough on abortion, either.
-Analysis by Nathaniel Rakich of FiveThirtyEight

Haley reiterated her calls for "compassion" when the country debates abortion, though she declined to state whether she would support a federal ban on the procedure.

Haley noted the uphill climb to a federal ban, referencing the 60-vote filibuster in the Senate, but said she would oppose late-term abortions and punishments for women who receive abortions.

"Can't we all agree that we should ban late term abortions? Can't we all agree that we should encourage adoptions? Can't we all agree that doctors and nurses who don't believe in abortion shouldn't have to perform them? Can't we all agree that contraception should be available? And can't we all agree that we are not going to put a woman in jail or give her the death penalty if she gets an abortion? Let's treat this like the like the respectful issue that it is," she said.

-ABC News' Tal Axelrod

Why are voters so dissatisfied with Biden’s economy?

That’s one of the questions that will shape the 2024 race as Republicans gear up to select a presidential challenger. Right now, only 36 percent of American adults approve of Biden’s handling of the economy, according to an AP-NORC poll from Aug. 10-14. Similarly, a Fox News poll from Aug. 11-14 found that only a quarter of American voters say Biden’s policies have made the economy better. Some of this is affected by partisanship: A large majority of Republicans disapprove of his handling of the economy, but Democrats aren’t over the moon either, with only about two-thirds approving, according to the AP poll.

It’s tempting to think this is all a hangover from last summer’s doldrums, when inflation peaked at 9.1 percent last June. Consumer prices might be the most obvious way that everyday Americans interact with the economy. Inflation today is still 3.2 percent higher compared to this time last year, which means prices are still above what they were before the pandemic.

The fact that the job market remains strong, with unemployment at historic lows and wages rising, hardly makes an impact when people feel like they’re spending more every time they go to the grocery store and are struggling to pay down debts amid high interest rates. But the truth is, Americans’ view of the economy overall was low when Biden took office during the wobbly beginnings of the COVID-19 recovery, and has never risen above 50 percent.

What do people want from federal policy? They support measures such as taxing the wealthy and corporations more — more than three-quarters of all Americans approve, including 90 percent of Democrats and 63 percent of Republicans, according to an Ipsos/Reuters poll. As it happens, that policy is part of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, his signature inflation-fighting legislative win, but less than half of Americans say they know about the bill.
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Biden is working to promote the Inflation Reduction Act and other legislative accomplishments as part of “Bidenomics,” but the fact that there’s a gap between what Biden is doing about the economy and how people feel about it leaves plenty of room for Republican attacks. Indeed, DeSantis has promised to roll back Biden’s economic policies. And the polling so far suggests that, even if the economy improves even more in the next year, Biden might not get credit for it.

-Analysis by Monica Potts of FiveThirtyEight