Sen. Susan Collins during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, DC, on September 16, 2026. | Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images Nationally, abortion has faded as a campaign issue. Four years after it helped Democrats stave off a red wave, candidates in battleground races are focusing their attention on cost-of-living issues, immigration, and policing. As of mid-August, abortion was mentioned in less than 5 percent of Democratic Senate ads, a key difference from the past two cycles, according to the Wesleyan Media Project. Ma...