Results from Tuesday’s off-year election delivered a resounding message: Abortion access rights are still a winning issue for Democrats.

In Virginia , voters handed full control of its General Assembly to Democrats. The party held its majority in the state Senate and won back control of the House of Delegates. The decisive issue was Gov. Glenn Youngkin ’s (R-VA) proposed 15-week abortion ban. Although the ban would allow exceptions for victims of rape or incest and for medically necessary abortions, that was not enough for the state’s liberal-leaning electorate. (Abortion is currently legal in Virginia through the 26th week of pregnancy.)

Abortion rights were on the ballot in Kentucky as well. Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) campaigned aggressively on Republican challenger Daniel Cameron’s early support for a state abortion ban (triggered by the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade in June 2022) that made no exceptions for cases of rape or incest.

And voters in Ohio, a state that former President Donald Trump twice won handily, overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment that will ensure residents' access to abortion for years to come. The New York Times reports that Democrats plan to put similar referendums on the ballot in 2024 in Arizona, Florida, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.

In each of these states, Democrats spent tens of millions of dollars to get the message out: Republicans want to restrict your right to get an abortion.

In a Tuesday interview, Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) told the New York Times, “Abortion is the No. 1 issue in the 2024 campaign. If you’re not talking about protecting women’s reproductive rights as a Democrat, you’re not doing it right.”

Pritzker is right, and if anyone thinks that the Democrats’, or even the independents’, initial hysteria over the repeal of Roe has given way to complacency, Tuesday’s results show they are wrong. Republicans ignore abortion as a major political issue at their peril.

It seems almost unfathomable that people would be more concerned over abortion access rights than they are about rampant inflation, prohibitive interest rates, the open southern border, the spike in crime, and two new foreign wars. But unfortunately, that appears to be the case. And Republicans must find an effective way to address the matter or risk losing it all in 2024.

In April, Republican presidential primary candidate and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed a bill that would ban abortions in the state after the sixth week of pregnancy. Although it was a brave move that was welcomed by pro-life conservatives, it was seen as an extreme position by the majority of people. It may also be (one of the reasons) why his campaign has failed to launch.

Reacting at the time, conservative commentator Ann Coulter wrote : “Unlike a lot of people complaining about the anti-abortion zealots, I am an anti-abortion zealot. That’s why I’m begging them to stop pushing wildly unpopular ideas. These fanatics are going to get millions more babies killed when Democrats win supermajorities in both houses of Congress and immediately pass a federal law making abortion-on-demand the law of the land.”

“Extremists have got to learn to take half a loaf,” Coulter added. “Pro-lifers need to be told: You can’t get everything you want. If Republicans give you this, they’ll lose their jobs, and the people who’ll replace them want you dead.”

Coulter also cited the failure of six statewide ballot initiatives introduced since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision. Pro-lifers “lost in blue states, in purple states, and in red states. They were not outspent. These were direct-to-the-people votes. The tiniest restriction on abortion failed — even wholly theoretical restrictions! Every expansion of abortion rights won.”

Republican strategist Lee Carter told Fox News on Wednesday the GOP must stop using the word “ban.” She argued that people don’t like bans on anything. According to Carter, reproductive rights drive 7 out of 10 women and 9 out of 10 Democrats to the polls.

The past two election cycles have been a major wake-up call for the GOP. The Dobbs decision has provided a lifeline for the embattled Democratic Party and galvanized voters in a way few thought possible. The anticipated “red tsunami” failed to materialize in 2022, with Republicans barely winning the House, and again in 2023, with the party failing to capitalize on President Joe Biden’s historic unpopularity.

But instead of confronting the problem, Republicans hit the snooze button. The alarm went off again on Tuesday night, and I sincerely hope the GOP was listening.

Republicans’ fight for life is noble and admirable and right, but so is the future of America. We no longer have the luxury of defending positions that won’t sit well with the public. Compromise is essential. Tempering our position on abortion now could save the country from four more years of an administration that supports abortion on demand up until the time of birth. An incrementalist approach might very well be the most pro-life position possible.

Elizabeth Stauffer is a contributor to the Washington Examiner, Power Line, and AFNN, and she is a fellow at the Heritage Foundation Academy. She is a past contributor to RedState, Newsmax, the Western Journal, and  Bongino.com . Her articles have appeared on RealClearPolitics, MSN, the Federalist, and many other sites. Please follow Elizabeth on  X  or  LinkedIn .