A Data-Driven Strategy to Save Abortion Access
Why three Missouri state house races may be the most important abortion-rights investment you can make in 2026 — and what the mifepristone crisis tells us about why a data-driven strategy has never mattered more. We need your support to continue to ramp up our work heading towards the midterms. This story proves the same old strategies no longer work. We have to think & work differently to win, which is exactly what we are doing with your support at Flip the States.
A One-Week Reprieve is Not a Victory
Last week, an appeals court handed down a ruling that sent a shockwave through the reproductive rights community: the FDA must revert to pre-2016 rules requiring that mifepristone — the first drug in the most common medication abortion regimen — be prescribed only through an in-person doctor visit. No telehealth. No mail. No pharmacy pickup. Immediately, for the entire country.
The practical impact would have been staggering. More than two-thirds of abortions in the U.S. today are medication abortions. Mifepristone, used in combination with misoprostol, is the standard of care. Eliminating mail and telehealth access wouldn’t just inconvenience patients — it would make abortion functionally impossible for millions of people in states where in-person clinic access is already scarce, expensive, or dangerous.
On May 4, 2026, the Supreme Court issued a temporary stay, blocking the appeals court ruling for one week. Justice Alito’s order bought time — until May 11 — while the full court considers the case. It is a temporary reprieve, not a resolution. The legal threat is very much alive, and the case will continue to work its way through the courts.
This is what it looks like when the infrastructure of reproductive rights is dismantled piece by piece — through a slow accumulation of court decisions, regulatory rollbacks, and legislative maneuvers that most people never see coming. Which is exactly why what happens in Missouri this fall matters so much.
MO Voters Won. Republican Legislators are Trying to Erase It
In 2024, Missouri voters — in one of the reddest states in the nation — chose to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitution. They joined Ohio, Arizona, and Montana as the only states with Republican-controlled legislatures where voters nonetheless moved to protect abortion access since the fall of Roe. It was a hard-won, historic victory.
And almost immediately, Republican legislators began working to take it away.
In both Missouri and Ohio, Republicans hold legislative supermajorities. That structural power has given them the ability to challenge, attempt to bypass, and seek to repeal abortion protections that were approved directly by voters. The will of the people is being tested — and in some cases, blocked — by a small number of legislators operating from a position of unchecked power. Breaking that supermajority is the essential next step. It is not enough to win ballot measures if the legislature can simply route around them.
Three Races. Maximum Impact. This is the Data-Talking
Ohio presents an opportunity — but flipping the Ohio legislature requires winning five State Senate seats or six State House seats. That is a steep, resource-intensive climb.
Missouri is more achievable, and the stakes are as high if not higher given the sea of abortion restricted states surrounded it. Thanks to our data, we know that makes MO the single most important state legislative battleground for abortion rights in the country in 2026.
According to our proprietary algorithm — built on 15 years of voting trends, recent election results, the cost of each race, and the structural impact each seat would have on the chamber’s balance of power — just three Missouri State House districts stand out as the most winnable and most consequential targets.
Three races. MO State House Districts 12, 100 and 17. That is all it takes to break the supermajority and restore legislative accountability to Missouri voters who already spoke.
These are not long shots. They are carefully identified, data-driven targets where investment in organizing, candidate support, and voter contact can move outcomes. Each seat flipped is a step toward a legislature that cannot simply ignore what Missouri voters decided.
This is what a data-driven strategy looks like in practice: not spreading resources thin across every competitive-sounding race, but deploying them precisely where the math — and the map — say they will matter most.
This is what Flip the States Makes Possible
Finding these three Missouri districts required something most campaigns and advocacy organizations never do or can’t do: years of sustained investment in data infrastructure, algorithm development, and strategic modeling before a single race is even announced.
The ability to look at races across the entire country and say, with confidence, “these three seats — not those twelve, not those twenty — are where resources will produce the most impact” doesn’t happen by accident. It is the result of continuous work: updating models, refining methodology, tracking shifts in voting trends at the district level, and staying in the game between election cycles when attention fades and funding dries up.
That is exactly what your ongoing donation supports. Not just a single race or a single cycle — but the sustained analytical capacity that makes it possible to act with precision when the moment demands it. The party establishment has shown what they prioritize – keeping the status quo and optimizing for raising money from you, no matter the outcome. We do the work to look across states, across the country and then use the data to optimize to WIN. To take power. Period.
Missouri is still in primary season, so there aren’t yet general election Democrats to support for these three Missouri State House seats, but if you are ready to directly support the work on the ground, make a donation to Access MO, an incredible organization ensuring MO retains its voter-approved abortion access. We’ve shared our data and analysis with them at no cost to ensure they can win. Donate to them and then match your donation with one to Flip the States.
Spread the word – How to WIN with Flip the States
Your money matters so make sure it counts when you donate it. We give you the data and context you need to make sure your donations can get the biggest bang for your buck. Share this link with anyone who is sick & tired of the same old strategies that don’t lead to winning and ask them to sign up for our Flip the States Take Back the Power newsletter.