In the states that will determine control of the U.S. Senate next year, some Republican Senate candidates have quietly shifted their positions on abortion rights in an effort to counter Democratic success in navigating this issue.
Shift in Focus
This shift in focus comes as Democrats continue to win elections across the country by strongly reaffirming their support for abortion rights in the 18 months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Republican party strategists have urged their candidates to oppose a national ban, while party leaders have called for a direct approach to the issue.
Republican Candidates in Competitive States
Below is a list of announced Republican candidates in five competitive Senate states who have notably changed how they discuss this issue in recent months:
Arizona: Kari Lake
Lake was one of the earliest prominent Republican candidates to change her position on abortion. In her unsuccessful campaign for governor of Arizona in 2022, Lake stated that she supported a law from 1864 that virtually bans all abortions in the state, describing it as a “great law that is already in place” which was temporarily reinstated following the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dobbs case.
However, Lake has now adopted a more nuanced stance: opposing a national ban and acknowledging that her personal views on state policy conflict with the preferences of some voters.
In a statement posted on her campaign website earlier this fall, Lake said she “wants to do everything she can to help women choose life, to choose to bring this blessing into their own existence,” but “also realizes that the majority of people in this country and in Arizona believe that abortion should be legal with restrictions.”
Her website states: “Arizona law currently allows abortion up to 15 weeks, and Kari does not support a national ban on abortion. Abortion is, as the courts have decided, a matter that should be decided by the states, not the federal government” (Lake’s campaign referred NBC News to her website when asked to clarify her stance).
Pennsylvania: Dave McCormick
McCormick, who faces little opposition for the chance to run against Democratic Senator Bob Casey, stated in a Republican primary debate during his unsuccessful Senate campaign last year that life begins at conception and that “in very rare cases, there should be exceptions for the life of the mother.”
Pennsylvania Democrats began running ads against McCormick that included those statements last July – two months before he entered the race – prompting his campaign to spend much of the early weeks clarifying that he had also stated he supports exceptions for abortion care in cases of rape, incest, and life of the mother.
McCormick’s campaign spokeswoman Elizabeth Gregory said: “As Dave has said several times in the last cycle and recently, he is pro-life and supports exceptions in cases of rape, incest, and life of the mother.”
Nevada: Sam Brown
Brown described himself as “pro-life” and opposed “any legislation that supports abortion funding at the federal level, late-term abortion, or abortion without parental notification” and is supportive of “federal judges who recognize the importance of protecting life.”
Brown declined to comment last July on whether he would support a national abortion ban. But in response to requests to clarify his position, Brown stated that he opposes any potential federal abortion ban and that any restrictions on care should include exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother.
He stated: “I have consistently affirmed that this issue should be decided at the state level, and the people of Nevada have made their decision. I am personally pro-life, and I believe there should be exceptions for the tragic cases of rape, incest, and life of the mother.”
Ohio:
Bernie Moreno, Frank Larose, Matt Dolan
Businessman Bernie Moreno, one of three Republican candidates seeking to challenge Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, has wavered on the issue of abortion.
Moreno stated, “Republicans should never back down from the belief that life begins at conception and that abortion is the killing of an innocent child.” Earlier this year, in an attempt to clarify his views on the ballot measures that Ohio voters approved last month to reaffirm abortion rights in the state constitution, he incorrectly claimed that this measure would allow for “forcing” a woman to have an abortion in cases of rape.
Recently, Moreno offered a more nuanced stance on the national level regarding this issue. He said in October that he supports a national 15-week abortion ban that includes exceptions for rape, incest, and saving the mother’s life – but he also wants to allow states to impose additional restrictions.
Moreno’s rivals for the Republican Senate nomination – Ohio Secretary of State Frank Larose and state Senator Matt Dolan – have also declared their opposition to abortion, but they do not appear to have retracted any previous statements.
In August, Larose told NBC News, “If a life measure were brought to the Senate, I would vote as a pro-life American.”
As a state senator in 2018, Larose voted in favor of a six-week abortion ban following the overturning of Roe (currently still blocked by a court ruling). The law contained no exceptions for rape or incest.
Lose has faced criticism from abortion rights advocates earlier this year when he admitted that the special election held in August was “100% about stopping the extreme abortion amendment from our constitution.” Last month, Larose – who was the top election official in the state – went further, admitting that he consulted three anti-abortion groups when drafting the ballot language for November’s legislation.
In a statement, Larose’s campaign spokesperson Ben Kendall said Larose “will always fight for fetal rights and women’s healthcare.”
Dolan criticized ballot measure No. 1 as “extreme” and stated that abortion policy should be left to the states.
He told the Columbus Dispatch in October, “The pro-life movement has worked hard to get this back to the states. It’s back there, and I prefer that states handle it on a state-by-state basis.”
Dolan also said that he would not support any anti-abortion legislation that does not include exceptions for rape and incest.
Michigan: Mike Rogers, Peter Meijer, James Craig
Former Congressman Mike Rogers, one of many Republicans competing for the open Senate seat, indicated that he would not support any federal restrictions on abortion if elected.
He told the Detroit News in September, “Am I going to go to Washington, D.C. and try to overturn what the citizens of Michigan voted for? I’m not going to do that.” Last year, Michigan voters approved a state constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to abortion.
However, abortion rights advocates noted that Rogers, during his 14 years in Congress, voted at least twice to impose federal restrictions on abortion. This included his support for a 2012 bill that would have virtually banned all abortions (with no exceptions for rape or incest) and a 2013 bill that would have made most abortion care in the United States a crime.
Similarly, former Congressman Peter Meijer – who repeatedly voted against expanding abortion rights as a member of Congress – recently stated that while he is “proud” of his record on “protecting life,” he acknowledges that we “live in a different world today after Roe.”
He said
Majer told the Detroit Free Press last week: “I do not support a federal abortion ban, point blank, and I believe abortion restrictions will be determined at the state level.”
Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, who previously stated that he supports an abortion ban in Michigan under a now-repealed 1931 abortion law, told the Detroit News in October that he opposes a federal abortion ban.
He said: “I think the heartbeat of the child is important. But I also feel sensitive about being realistic and something that should remain with the states.”
Representatives for the Rogers, Craig, and Majer campaigns did not respond to inquiries.
Source: https://www.aol.com/gop-senate-candidates-soften-abortion-120000411.html
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item.lwrp-empty-list-item{
background: initial !important;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item .lwrp-list-link .lwrp-list-link-title-text,
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item .lwrp-list-no-posts-message{
}@media screen and (max-width: 480px) {
.lwrp.link-whisper-related-posts{
}
.lwrp .lwrp-title{
}.lwrp .lwrp-description{
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-multi-container{
flex-direction: column;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-multi-container ul.lwrp-list{
margin-top: 0px;
margin-bottom: 0px;
padding-top: 0px;
padding-bottom: 0px;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-double,
.lwrp .lwrp-list-triple{
width: 100%;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-row-container{
justify-content: initial;
flex-direction: column;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-row-container .lwrp-list-item{
width: 100%;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item:not(.lwrp-no-posts-message-item){
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item .lwrp-list-link .lwrp-list-link-title-text,
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item .lwrp-list-no-posts-message{
};
}
Leave a Reply