ICYMI: Republican candidates tack toward right on abortion [The Hill]

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

The Hill: Republican candidates tack toward right on abortion
By Julia Manchester
September 30, 2021

Key Points:

• Republicans across the country are…lurching further to the right on the deeply controversial issue than their primary competitors.

• Former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt has leaned heavily into his anti-abortion credentials in his run for Senate

• Meanwhile in Ohio, three Republican Senate candidates have very publicly thrown their support behind “fetal heartbeat” legislation. 

• In New Hampshire, Gov. Chris Sununu (R), a potential Senate candidate, is facing backlash from Democrats for signing a state budget that included a ban on the procedure after 24 weeks of pregnancy and mandatory ultrasounds before abortions take place. 

• The issue has also come up in other closely watched races, including…Arizona.

• The Texas abortion law has provided Democrats with ample opportunity to go on the offensive against their Republican opponents, painting them as extreme ahead of general elections. 

• “In key Senate battleground states, Democrats will be reminding voters of the stakes in next year’s election, why we must defend a Democratic Senate majority with the power to confirm or reject Supreme Court justices — and why we must hold every GOP senate candidate accountable for their attacks on women and families,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokeswoman Jazmin Vargas.

• In Ohio, Democrats have already targeted Republican primary candidates such as J.D. Vance, Josh Mandel and Jane Timken for their stances on abortion. Vance, in particular, came under fire last week when he said “two wrongs don’t make a right” in response to a question on allowing for exceptions for rape and incest.

• Regardless of what office Sununu decides to run for, he is coming under fire from Democrats for his decision to include a 24-week abortion ban in the $13.5 billion two-year state budget. 

• “Whether Sununu runs for Senate or runs for governor, it is certainly going to be our mission to expose him for saying one thing to the voters and doing another,” New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley told The Hill.

See also: Axios: Democrats putting Texas on the ballot in New Hampshire and Nevada; Bloomberg: Abortion Rights Hitting Midterm Stage as Democrats Push on Issue; The Hill: Texas abortion law creates 2022 headache for GOP; AJC: OPINION: Texas decision puts abortion at center of Georgia 2022 races, too;  News & Observer: Texas law, Supreme Court cases push abortion into spotlight for 2022 NC elections; USA Today: Texas abortion law could hurt Republicans in 2022 midterm elections, experts say; The Hill: Democrats, Planned Parenthood say reproductive health care is on 2022 ballot; Bloomberg: GOP-Led Abortion Bans Risk Driving Away Voters the Party Needs; The Atlantic: What the Texas Abortion Law Means for the Midterms; The Hill (Opinion): Press: Texas hands Democrats a great big gift; Axios: Democrats’ next moves after a stunning SCOTUS loss on abortion; Newsweek: Republicans Are Not Celebrating the Texas Abortion Law. Here’s Why; CNN: Opinion: The GOP’s Texas-sized mistake on abortion; Washington Post: Analysis | Abortion, voting rights, guns and covid: Texas Republicans go all in; Roll Call: Democrats say Texas abortion ban spotlights Senate battle in 2022; MSNBC: Texas abortion ban reverberates from White House to state houses; NBC News: Texas law could flip script on abortion politics, with Democrats eyeing gains; New York Times: Abortion Arrives at the Center of the American Political Maelstrom; Washington Post: ​​Texas abortion law reshapes political landscape; Reuters: Analysis: Texas abortion ban injects new urgency into U.S. election campaigns; Los Angeles Times: How the Supreme Court Texas abortion ruling may impact midterms; The Hill: Democrats point to Texas abortion ban in bid to juice midterm turnout; Washington Post: Analysis | The Trailer: Why Democrats want to talk about Texas’s abortion law (and Republicans don’t).

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