A new survey from the health policy research firm KFF shows that over 25% of African American women voters consider abortion as their main concern in the upcoming presidential election.

The results indicate a significant change from past elections, where white, conservative evangelicals tended to consider abortion as their top priority when voting. These voters were strongly driven during recent presidential elections to vote for Donald Trump, as he vowed to nominate U.S. Supreme Court justices who would eliminate the constitutional right to an abortion.

However, with the upcoming presidential election in June 2022 and the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade by the court, the voting dynamic appears to be experiencing a significant shift, according to KFF’s poll.

Ashley Kirzinger, a pollster at KFF, described it as a significant change. The demographic comprising abortion voters is now made up of young Black women, rather than white evangelicals.

In general, twelve percent of voters polled stated that abortion was the primary concern in this year’s election.

Some women voters, specifically Black women (28%), women in states with banned abortion (19%), and women under age 50 (17%), were more inclined to recognize the issue as the most important.

Out of the voters who prioritized abortion as their top concern, about two-thirds indicated that they support legalizing abortion in all or majority of cases.

According to Kirzinger, white evangelicals have been consistently voting for the anti-abortion cause for many years. In order to win their support, Trump, a member of the Republican party, has been actively seeking their approval by promising to appoint conservative judges and utilizing religious figures as advocates. They were warned that the Democratic candidates would significantly increase access to abortion in the country. In the previous presidential elections, Trump received strong backing from white evangelicals.

However, with ongoing efforts from state governments to restrict abortion and President Trump preparing for a potential re-election campaign against Democratic nominee Joe Biden, the profile of those who prioritize abortion as a voting issue has changed, according to Kirzinger. Biden has made it clear that he will defend abortion rights following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the longstanding ruling.

Kirzinger stated that abortion is a significant concern for this demographic and that Black women are disproportionately affected by limited access to abortion.

Women — and Black women, in particular — were crucial to Biden’s win over Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Last week, Biden’s campaign announced that first lady Jill Biden would lead a nationwide effort to mobilize that voting bloc again.

A majority of African Americans reside in Southern states, where many quickly implemented stringent abortion legislation upon the announcement of the Supreme Court’s verdict. According to an analysis by the Associated Press, approximately 25 million women were inhabiting states that had implemented new restrictions in response to the court’s ruling as of last year.

According to a KFF survey, around 66% of voters are against a nationwide prohibition on abortion starting at 16 weeks of gestation. While there is no public statement from Trump on this ban, there have been rumors that he has expressed his support for it in private discussions.

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Keep up with the AP’s reporting on abortion by visiting https://apnews.com/hub/abortion.