Morrisey, the Republican candidate, has been a vigorous defender of West Virginia’s comprehensive abortion ban, which includes some exceptions. Williams, his Democratic opponent, tried but failed to get an abortion referendum on the November ballot.

Now he’s betting the gap on the issue is wider than Republicans think, even in a GOP-dominated state that voted for Trump in every county in 2016 and 2020.

“The way I see it, freedom is going to be on the ballot one way or another,” said Williams, who met with independent, Republican and Democratic women unhappy with lawmakers’ restrictions.

Unlike other states that voted on abortion after federal protections ended, West Virginia does not have a citizen-driven ballot initiative process. The only way to get a question on the ballot is by a vote of the legislature, which has Republican supermajorities in both chambers and ignored a petition Williams filed with thousands of signatures from West Virginians.

Amendments to maintain abortion rights have gained traction even in GOP-leaning states like Kansas and Kentucky, where residents voted in favor of access to the procedure. Even in a state as Republican-dominated as West Virginia, the distinction between the candidates could matter to some voters.

As governor, Williams said he would continue to pressure lawmakers to put abortion on the ballot or ease restrictions. If they continue to refuse to do either, he said he will restore access by executive order.

Morrisey says West Virginia is a “pro-life state” and cited a 2018 vote in which just under 52 percent of voters supported a constitutional amendment saying there is no abortion right in West Virginia. But that vote — during a low-turnout midterm election — came four years before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled there was no constitutional right to abortion, handing the issue back to the states.

The 2018 vote also had to do with state funding of abortion, which some voters may oppose without wanting access completely eliminated, advocates say.

Not long after, West Virginia passed its ban — becoming one of 13 states to make abortion illegal.

Morrisey argued that voters can reject MPs if they don’t like what they do.

“My opponent is part of the far left Biden-Harris movement,” he said. “And that’s not what West Virginians are looking for. “

But Margaret Chapman Pomponio, executive director of the abortion rights and reproductive health advocacy nonprofit WV FREE, said she has no doubt West Virginia would vote for abortion rights if given the chance.

“Legislators won’t do it because I think they know they would lose,” she said.

He worries that people don’t know how restrictive the law really is.

After the Dobbs decision, the legislature met several times to debate proposals to ban abortion. During their first special session in July 2022, which was postponed after lawmakers failed to agree, “the public outcry was intense,” Chapman Pomponio said, as protesters gathered at the state Capitol.

When the legislature was recalled in September, the law was quickly approved without a public comment period.

“I think that really creates a sense of mistrust and anger and apathy because they didn’t feel heard or respected,” Chapman Pomponio said. “Why go to the polls if you know your constituents will ignore you?”

She said West Virginia Free’s 501(c)(4) sister organization — the WV FREE Action Fund — reached out to voters to try to mobilize them before the election and found that many people didn’t fully understand how limited there are exemptions.

Adult victims of rape and incest, for example, can obtain abortions in the state until they are eight weeks pregnant, while child victims are as young as 14 weeks. Victims are required to report their assault to law enforcement 48 hours before the proceeding, which attorneys point out could be a barrier because most victims never report their assaults to law enforcement.

“We have to continually explain to people that the exemptions have been portrayed very dishonestly by politicians who want the public to believe there is more compassion in the ban than there is,” she said.

According to AdImpact, which tracks campaign spending on advertising, Democrats spent next to nothing on the governor’s race, while Morrisey and the Republican groups supporting him spent more than $36 million on ads for his campaign.