Abortion recedes from spotlight in Texas' primary election

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — As the right to an abortion in the U.S. hangs in doubt, one thing seemed clear at the outset of 2022: the issue would tower over America's midterm elections.

But in Texas — of all places — that hasn't been the case going into the nation's first primary.

Airwaves are not swamped with campaign ads focused on abortion access. Candidates spend more time talking about COVID-19, immigration and the reliability of the power grid. Some rallies and events come and go without even a mention of Texas having the most restrictive abortion law in the country on the books for months now.

“It’s almost like we’ve become numb," said Democrat Ann Johnson, a state representative in Houston.

With early voting already underway for the March 1 primary, the absence of abortion at the forefront of Texas races amounts to an abrupt swing from last fall, when the law banning abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy took effect and made headlines across the country. Republican lawmakers in other states rushed to propose copycat measures, and in the White House, President Joe Biden slammed the law as unleashing “constitutional chaos."

The change has disappointed abortion rights supporters who suspect that months of court defeats has taken a toll on their side at a time when a full press is still needed. Others worry that some candidates, particularly Democrats, still don't know how to effectively campaign on abortion even after the tumult of last fall.

"It’s a community issue, it’s a public health issue and I think to not talk about it is like super blind,” said Amy Hagstrom Miller, president of Whole Woman's Health, which operates four clinics in Texas.

It shows that both Democratic and Republican candidates alike in Texas have concluded other issues are currently...