What we know (and don't know) about how abortion affected the midterms

Ahead of the midterms, pollsters and strategists and — yes, journalists — were obsessed with voters' top issues. In poll after poll, including polling at NPR, voters reported inflation to be the most important issue. Despite this, a lot of people do not vote with a single issue top-of-mind, and that makes it hard to know how much abortion swayed the midterms.

This year's midterms were certainly unusual — when the president's approval is below 50 percent (as President Biden's is), their party loses 43 House seats in midterm elections, on...