IN THE STATES: Wall-To-Wall Coverage Calls Out GOP

Voters in Senate battleground states are reading and watching wall-to-wall coverage calling out GOP Senate candidates after “Republicans said flipping the chamber this November would allow them to officially consider a national abortion ban” – highlighting how the stakes of November’s elections “were raised a decibel” and confirming that “abortion is on the ballot in 2022.”

See for yourself:

AZ – Arizona Republic (Opinion): Whoa, whiplash: GOP Senate candidate Blake Masters flips again on abortion

• He started out his campaign calling for the overturning of Roe v. Wade and for passage of a federal personhood law, noting that abortion has become a “religious totem” for liberals.

• “It’s a religious sacrifice for these people,” he told conservative podcaster Allie Beth Stuckey last September. “I think it’s demonic.”

• In January, he chided his Republican opponents who said the issue should be left to the states. “What good is actually winning elections if you don’t do what you promised to do when you get in?” he said, during a Jan. 27 forum in Gilbert.

• In May, Masters expounded on his call for a federal personhood law. “I think the 14th Amendment says you have the right to life, liberty and property,” he said, during an event in Carefree. “You can’t deprive someone with that without due process. Hard to imagine a bigger deprivation of due process than killing a small child before they have a chance to take their first breath. So I think you do need a federal personhood law.”

• Fast forward to Tuesday, when Sen. Lindsey Graham proposed a national ban on abortion at 15 weeks… “Of course I support Lindsey Graham’s 15-week bill, and I hope it passes,” Master told the Associated Press.

• Even as Masters was making his remarks, his spokesman, Zach Henry, was retweeting a message that seemed to sum up the GOP response to Graham’s timing:  “Why why why why why.”

CO – Colorado Sun (Opinion): Joe O’Dea’s compromise plan on abortion just got a reality check from Lindsey Graham

• The thing is, what a 15-week nationwide ban would do, or a 20-week nationwide ban would do, is it would severely restrict abortion in states like Colorado, which has no restrictions. The woman decides. The doctor advises.

• Put it at 15 or 20 weeks, choice turns into a limited choice, with the possibility of more limitations on the way.

• In an interview with 9News’ Kyle Clark, O’Dea couldn’t come up with a single Democratic bill that he would help support. And as for women’s rights, O’Dea told Clark he wanted “balance,” while not quite explaining what that means.

• O’Dea likes to say that he’s not running on culture-war issues, which is what you say when you don’t agree with the majority of voters. But now that Graham has reminded Coloradans what a Republican abortion bill might actually look like, and what it would mean for Colorado, the calculation for O’Dea just got that much harder.

FL – Miami Herald: Rubio cosponsors bill by Graham banning abortions nationally after 15 weeks

• Republican Sen. Marco Rubio is co-sponsoring a bill that would ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks, an aide confirmed Wednesday, throwing support behind a measure that both aligns with his longstanding desire to restrict access to abortion and risks complicating his reelection bid less than two months before Election Day.

• In a statement, an aide to Rubio’s Democratic opponent, Rep. Val Demings, blasted his decision to co-sponsor the bill.

• “Marco Rubio has never been shy about his support for extremist abortion bans and criminalizing doctors, and cosponsoring this federal ban is just another step in his fight to take away women’s freedom,” said Christian Slater, a Demings spokesman. “As a 27-year law enforcement officer who investigated cases of rape and incest, Chief Demings is committed to protecting Florida’s women and girls. Floridians will hold Rubio accountable for his out of touch stance in November.”

FL – WKMG-CBS (WATCH): Proposed Nationwide Ban On Abortions

• A Florida senator is adding his name to a nationwide abortion ban bill. Senator Marco Rubio has signed on as a co-sponsor to the bill.

• It will ban abortion nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

FL – Orlando Sentinel, A1: Rubio co-sponsors Sen. Graham’s abortion ban at 15 weeks

• Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio has signed on as a co-sponsor to a bill that would ban abortions at 15 weeks in any state that doesn’t have tighter restrictions.

• The bill, introduced Tuesday by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has been criticized by some Republican senators and candidates as politically damaging. Democrats, including Rubio’s opponent in the Nov. 8 election, U.S. Rep. Val Demings, have seized on the abortion issue in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in June.

• Demings, who launched an ad last week specifically aimed at Rubio’s position on abortion, was quick to criticize Rubio over his sponsorship of the bill.

• “As a 27-year law enforcement officer who investigated cases of rape and incest, I’m appalled and disgusted,” Demings said in a statement. “Rape is a crime, incest is a crime, abortion is not. In the U.S. Senate, I will never stop fighting to codify Roe v. Wade and protect the fundamental freedom of women and girls to choose our own destiny.”

FL – ClickOrlando: Sen. Rubio signs on as co-sponsor of nationwide abortion ban

• Sen. Marco Rubio has signed onto Sen. Lindsey Graham’s bill to restrict abortion to 15 weeks across the country.

• Rubio, the senior Republican senator from Florida, is one of two co-sponsors so far on the bill, which Graham unveiled Tuesday.

• Demings has been vocally in favor of abortion rights. She supported two U.S. House bills in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade that would have codified the right to an abortion, and was a co-sponsor on a bill that prohibited states’ abilities to restrict people from traveling to have an abortion in another state.

FL – WPTV: Sen. Marco Rubio co-sponsors nationwide 15-week abortion ban bill

• Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is co-sponsoring a bill that would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy nationwide.

• Abortion already had been a flashpoint in the race for Rubio’s Senate seat.

• Rubio’s opponent, Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Demings, wrote on Twitter, “Marco Rubio just cosponsored the bill to ban abortions and criminalize doctors. He’ll stop at nothing to strip women of our constitutional rights.”

GA – Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Herschel Walker backs 15-week proposed abortion ban that’s divided Republicans

• ​​Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Herschel Walker said he supports a 15-week national abortion ban proposed by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

• It amplifies what was already a major difference between the former football star and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, an abortion rights supporter who has framed the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade as a tragedy.

• “Georgia voters will have a clear choice this fall between Rev. Warnock’s record of fighting to protect a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions and Herschel Walker, who wants to outlaw abortion, even in cases of rape, incest, or where the life of the mother is at risk and who would support a national abortion ban in the Senate,” Warnock communications director Meredith Brasher said.

• Walker has been open about his anti-abortion views. Early in his campaign, he filled out a survey from the Georgia Life Alliance that supported outlawing abortion, including in instances of rape and incest.

• His support for Graham’s proposed ban puts him at odds with public opinion in Georgia. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll in July found that most Georgia voters oppose the state’s new abortion law. Many voters in the poll said a candidate’s support or opposition to the procedure will have an impact on who gets their vote.

GA – Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Opinion): Democrats hope for boost from abortion fight

• In Congress this week, we saw Republicans playing defense on abortion, as U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., surprised his own party by unveiling a national ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
  

• “There’s not a national ban on abortion right now, and I think that’s a problem,” Walker said.

NC – News and Observer: NC Senate candidate Ted Budd backs Graham’s proposed 15-week national abortion ban

• U.S. Rep. Ted Budd expressed his support this week for a new proposal to ban abortion nationwide.

• Fallout from the Supreme Court decision has elevated abortion as an issue in the races that will decide control of Congress, including the one between Budd and Democrat Cheri Beasley, a former North Carolina chief justice.

• Reacting to Budd expressing his approval for the legislation Tuesday, Beasley said in Twitter posts on Wednesday that Budd “is just too extreme for North Carolina” and had shown that he would “lead the charge to take away our personal freedoms as Senator.”

NC – WGHP: National abortion ban co-sponsored by North Carolina Rep. Ted Budd

• So joining Graham’s effort were not only his Senate colleague Marco Rubio (R-Florida) but also the Republican from North Carolina who wants a seat in the Senate, Rep. Ted Budd (R-Advance).

• Budd’s name is listed as an original co-sponsor.

• Budd has a firm record for opposing all abortions.

• “Congressman Budd will stop at nothing to put himself between women and doctors,” Beasley said in a statement released by her campaign. “His national abortion ban will not only take away our freedom – it will cost North Carolina women their lives, and he owes an explanation to every woman whose life he has now put at risk.”

• Said North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Bobbie Richardson: “The stakes of this election couldn’t be more clear. Ted Budd will stand with Republicans to pass a national abortion ban and take away North Carolinians’ freedom, while Cheri Beasley will protect our freedoms and ensure people are able to make their own medical decisions.”

NC – WGHP (WATCH): Rep. Ted Budd Co-Sponsors Federal Abortion Ban

• Congressman Ted Budd [is] listed as an original cosponsor for the House version of the federal ban.

• Democratic opponent in the US Senate race Cheri Beasley issued a statement saying the national ban “would take away freedoms and cost North Carolina women their lives.”

NC – Cardinal & Pine: Ted Budd Co-Sponsors Bill That Would Ban Abortions Nationwide

• Ted Budd of North Carolina has co-sponsored a Republican proposal to ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

• Abortion is on the ballot in 2022.

• The ruling, and now Budd’s bill proposal, show how urgent the 2022 midterm elections will be.

• That is especially true in North Carolina.

• Abortion is legal here for now, but the Senate race… could determine wether it stays that way.
  

• If voters had any doubts before, there can be no doubts now. They know exactly what Republican control will mean for abortion rights.
  

NH – WMUR (WATCH): Senator Maggie Hassan On Bolduc: “He would be a yes vote for a national abortion ban”

• Sen. Hassan: “He is out of touch and very, very extreme and would pull New Hampshire backward. He would be a yes vote for a national abortion ban…”

NH – WMUR: Stark contrasts between Hassan, Bolduc in US Senate race

• “He is out of touch and very, very extreme and would pull New Hampshire backward,” Hassan said. “He would be a yes vote for a national abortion ban…”

NV – Las Vegas Sun: Proposed US abortion ban puts issue in spotlight for Nevada midterms

• Incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto said on Twitter she was deeply opposed to the legislation.

• “I will block any efforts in the Senate to advance a nationwide abortion ban — full stop,” Cortez Masto said. “We don’t need any more male politicians telling women what we can and can’t do with our own bodies.”

• Adam Laxalt, the Republican nominee running against Cortez Masto, had said previously he would support a referendum limiting abortion to the first 13 weeks, according to an Aug. 2 op-ed of his published in the Reno Gazette Journal. In that op-ed, Laxalt wrote that he agreed with the June ruling by the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

• Laxalt campaign spokesman Brian Freimuth would not say whether Laxalt, if elected, would vote for Graham’s 15-week ban.

NV – Reno Gazette Journal: Would a federal abortion ban jeopardize abortion rights in Nevada?

• What if a proposed bill that would outlaw abortions nationwide after 15 weeks — introduced Tuesday by Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina —  becomes law?

• “It would essentially create a ceiling, and it would dictate that states can now only protect abortions up to 15 weeks,” said Dr. Rebecca Gill, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas political science professor whose expertise includes gender, politics and courts.

• In other words, a federal ban would supersede Nevada’s protections.

• With concrete legislation now on the table, would Laxalt support Graham’s bill if he wins a Senate seat in November and is in office for the vote?

• U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto… said the Senate seat in Nevada will play an instrumental role in protecting abortion rights.

• “There is no doubt in my mind that the Republicans in the Senate right now are writing a draft legislation to further restrict abortion in this country — to actually try to pass a federal abortion ban,” said Cortez Masto at a campaign event in July. “This election, it matters. Nevada is the seat that’s going to stop that.”

OH – Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio Senate race: Tim Ryan blasts Lindsey Graham abortion ban as J.D. Vance stays quiet

• U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan railed against a federal abortion ban introduced in the U.S. Senate this week, accusing “extremists” of trying to take advantage of the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

• “Extremists in the Senate are capitalizing on the disastrous Dobbs decision to take away women’s reproductive freedom and codify the biggest act of government overreach of our lifetime,” Ryan said. “This latest attack on women’s freedom is exactly what J.D. Vance wanted, and exactly why Ohioans won’t let him anywhere near the Senate.”

• Vance doesn’t support exceptions for cases of rape or incest and said last year that children shouldn’t be punished for “inconvenient” circumstances around their birth.

• In a July “Meet the Press” appearance, he… signaled support for Ohio’s six-week abortion ban. Months prior, he said during a podcast interview that he would “like abortion to be illegal nationally.”

• “Let’s say Roe v. Wade is overruled,” he said. “Ohio bans abortion in 2022 − let’s say 2024. Then every day, George Soros sends a 747 to Columbus to load up disproportionately Black women to get them to go have abortions in California. Of course, the left will celebrate this as a victory for diversity…If that happens, do you need some federal response to prevent it from happening because it’s really creepy? I’m pretty sympathetic to that, actually. Hopefully we get to a point where Ohio bans abortion and California and the Soroses of the world respect it.”

• Vance is scheduled to headline a Summit County Republican Party dinner with Graham next month.

PA – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Pennsylvania Senate contest could be the key in GOP’s plan to consider national abortion ban

• As if the national spotlight on the race wasn’t bright enough, the stakes of the U.S. Senate contest in Pennsylvania were raised a decibel on Tuesday as prominent Republicans said flipping the chamber this November would allow them to officially consider a national abortion ban.

• Oz, the cardiothoracic surgeon and TV celebrity, did not give a straightforward answer as to whether or not he’d vote for the legislation, but did reaffirm his commitment to being anti-abortion.

• Mr. Fetterman, in a statement, said people’s lives are at stake, and called on Mr. Oz to “stop the spin.” He should give a “yes” or “no” answer to whether he supports the bill, Mr. Fetterman said.

• “A federal abortion ban would sure seem to interfere with a state’s decision on the topic of abortion,” Mr. Fetterman said. “When you’re a Senator, you actually have to take positions. You have to take votes — sometimes hard votes.”

• Mr. Fetterman quoted Mr. Oz as saying “abortion is murder,” referring to reporting on NBC News last month that unearthed audio from a May tele-town hall by Mr. Oz.

• Mr. Oz has said Roe was “wrongly decided,” and declared that he’d support “pro-life legislation…” if elected to the Senate.

PA – KDKA (WATCH): Fetterman Hits Back At Oz Over Federal Abortion Ban

• Fetterman’s campaign issued a statement repeating his intention to support legislation that would enshrine abortion rights into federal law. Fetterman also attacked Dr. Oz’s response.

PA – WESA: Proposal to limit abortion rights nationwide underscores importance of issue in Pa. Senate race

• A nationwide abortion limit proposed by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham would curtail abortion rights in Pennsylvania — and allow state officials to curtail them further if they wished.

• It assures that abortion rights will continue to be a central issue in the highly competitive race to replace retiring Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey.

• Within the hour, Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party issued a statement saying that Graham’s move made it “clear that abortion rights are on the ballot in Pennsylvania’s Senate race,” in which Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz faces Democrat John Fetterman. The outcome of the contest could determine control of the Senate, and whether Graham’s bill gets a vote or not.

• “Oz would be a vote in favor of this national abortion ban,” the statement contended. “We cannot trust Mehmet Oz to be the deciding vote in the Senate.”

• Oz’s statement did not expressly say he would vote against Graham’s proposal, and his campaign did not immediately respond to a follow-up query from WESA explicitly asking about whether he would be a “no” vote on it.

WI – Wisconsin Examiner (Opinion): Ron Johnson’s push to ban abortion

• Johnson’s position on the nationwide abortion ban is crystal clear. Whether he says so or not, he is already in favor of Graham’s effort. How do I know? Johnson cosponsored every version of the same ban Graham has introduced since 2013. Johnson’s name is on the bill six times — in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021.

• Here in Wisconsin, Planned Parenthood has already stopped providing the procedure, and desperate women are running for the borders. Many of them… have had tragic complications in wanted pregnancies and are struggling through grief and fear and logistical hurdles to getting the care they need, which Wisconsin doctors can’t provide until they can prove the women are on the verge of dying. It’s a nightmare.

• All of that is fine with Ron Johnson, who told the Wall Street Journal that he doesn’t expect abortion to be a big deal on the campaign trail. “It might be a little messy for some people, but abortion is not going away,” he said.  Women who don’t like living under Wisconsin’s 19th century no-exceptions abortion ban “can move,” he added.

• Johnson was trying to have it both ways on Tuesday, pretending that he’s not already on the record supporting the same nationwide abortion ban over and over and over again.

• That’s nonsense. Right after the Dobbs decision came down, Johnson celebrated, calling it the “correct decision” and taking credit for helping to confirm Donald Trump’s nominees who overturned Roe v. Wade, sending Wisconsin back to the 19th century. “Roe and Casey [the 1992 Supreme Court decision affirming the essential holding of Roe v. Wade] were so poorly decided. This is a really good decision. This is what should have happened 50 years ago,” Johnson said after Dobbs.

• It’s clear what Johnson thinks should happen to Wisconsin women: Whether under state law or one of the many nationwide abortion bans he has cosponsored, he’s pushing to make sure we lose our rights.

WI – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Johnson says abortion should be left to states as Baldwin decries proposed federal abortion ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy

• Johnson has previously supported legislation from Graham that would ban abortions nationwide 20 weeks after fertilization

• In Wisconsin, doctors stopped providing abortions in June following the overturning of Roe v. Wade because of a state law passed in 1849 that outlaws all abortions except in situations where the mother’s life is in danger.”

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