What Would a Harris Candidacy Mean for the Elusive Independent Woman Voter?

The Guardian’s Carter Sherman reportsthat heading into the presidential election, Democrats are hoping to sway independent voters based on their support for abortion rights. However, data from PRRI and others finds that abortion is less important to independent women than to their Democratic peers and existing polls indicate that independent women don’t seem driven to head to the polls in 2024. PRRI finds that 47% of Democrats say that they would only vote for a candidate who shares their views on abortion, compared with 34% of Republicans and 30% of independents.

Highlights from Supreme Court Term: Rulings on Trump, Regulation, Abortion, Guns and Homelessness

Mark Sherman and Lindsay Whitehurst at the Associated Press review the Supreme Court’s past term after the session closed last week. The court ruled on multiple consequential decisions, often falling along the lines of the court’s ideological divides. The court expanded presidential immunity, limited the ability to charge Jan. 6 rioters, disregarded a challenge to the abortion pill mifepristone, decided that a redrawn South Carolina congressional district did not discriminate against Black voters, lifted the ban on bump stocks, and more. PRRI finds around three in ten Americans (29%) say that reforming the Supreme Court is a critical issue, including 44% of Democrats, 23% of independents, and 14% of Republicans.

Migrants Pause in the Amazon Because Getting to the U.S. is Harder. Most Have No Idea What Lies Ahead

Mauricio Savarese at the Associated Press reports that a growing number of migrants are halting their journey to the U.S. in Acre, Brazil, due to the new restrictions on asylum enacted by President Joe Biden in June. Last week, the White House stated that arrests for illegal crossings fell below 2,400 a day for the first time during Biden’s presidency. According to independent analysts and Brazilian government officials, migrants from India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Senegal who would previously travel through Brazil to the U.S. are no longer attempting to migrate through Latin America. PRRI finds that Americans are divided about passing a law that prevents asylum seekers from coming to the U.S. if they haven’t first sought protection in some other country (47% favor, 48% oppose).

Understanding Differences Between Black and White Christian Nationalism Adherents and Sympathizers

In a new Spotlight Analysis, PRRI Public Fellow Michael R. Fisher, Jr., Ph.D., contrasts the worldviews of Black and white Christian nationalism Adherents and Sympathizers concerning abortion legality, immigration, support for Biden and Trump, and other topics. On abortion, the majority of Black Americans who qualify as Christian nationalism Adherents and Sympathizers (59%) say abortion should be legal in most or all cases while seven in ten white Christian nationalism Adherents and Sympathizers (70%) say abortion should be illegal in most or all cases. Though Christian nationalist sentiment appears across the United States, Fisher writes that it is important to recognize that all Christian nationalism supporters do not universally subscribe to the same ideas. Read more.