In a campaign ad this month, Derek Tran, a Democrat from Orange County, California, blasted his opponent, Republican U.S. Rep. Michelle Steel, for supporting a national abortion ban and voting to restrict entry to contraception.
Democratic challenger Will Rollins additionally known as out his rival, Rep. Ken Calvert, and “MAGA extremists” in an ad last week for his or her backing of a invoice that might criminalize medical practitioners who present abortions.
Just a few blocks from state Route 14 in Lancaster, about 70 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, Rep. Mike Garcia’s Democratic opponent, George Whitesides, planted two billboards promising to guard reproductive well being care, a jab on the Republican congressman, who has voted to chop taxpayer funding of abortions for service members and different Americans.
As Election Day approaches, Democratic hopefuls are doing all they will to tie Republican opponents in contested congressional districts to their anti-abortion information. Aggressive advertisements are going up in California, Arizona, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, and Oregon, as Democrats see a chance to take management of the House by participating voters who may not vote straight-ticket — or in any respect. Republicans at the moment management the House by a slim margin.
“What we all need to do is to make sure we look at her record, and that record is contrary to what she’s putting out there in her ads,” Tran mentioned in an interview about Steel. “We’re making sure that we educate and remind the voters of who she really is.”
Democrats are additionally linking Republican incumbents to former President Donald Trump, who has taken credit score for the 2022 Supreme Court resolution overturning Roe v. Wade. Democrats are warning voters that extra restrictions might come. During the Sept. 10 presidential debate, Trump dodged a query about whether or not he would veto a nationwide abortion ban if elected.
A majority of voters assist restoring a federal proper to abortion, in keeping with a recent KFF poll. And 1 in 14 voters say abortion is a very powerful problem in figuring out their alternative. Those voters have the potential to make a distinction within the shut races, mentioned David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University.
“The politics of abortion and reproductive health can get voters to participate at higher rates,” McCuan mentioned. “It’s going to be a defining issue.”
Democrats are hoping the problem performs to their favor in California. Voters two years in the past codified abortion rights into state regulation. In May, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California launched a seven-figure campaign focusing on seven Republican seats and Democrat Katie Porter’s open seat.
As a end result, political analysts say, Republicans have shied away from their votes on abortion and a few incumbents — reminiscent of Steel, Garcia, and Central Valley U.S. Rep. David Valadao — have moderated their stances to enchantment to voters.
Steel, like Garcia and Valadao, has mentioned she helps exceptions to abortion bans in instances of rape, incest, or threats to the lifetime of the mom. All three co-sponsored a invoice amounting to a blanket abortion ban within the earlier Congress. Garcia and Valadao left their names off the invoice final yr, however Steel signed on once more as a co-sponsor — briefly.
Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) attends a congressional listening to on May 23 in Washington.(Michael A. McCoy/Getty Images)
She withdrew her assist after she received her March major, explaining that it might create confusion as a result of the three-page invoice might threaten in vitro fertilization. In a September campaign ad, Steel shared that she had used IVF to have kids and reiterated her assist for the process. Steel spokesperson Lance Trover mentioned she opposes a nationwide abortion ban.
None of the Republican incumbents who signify a California “toss-up” district, as decided by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, granted KFF Health News an interview. Those who did reply mentioned they don’t assist a nationwide abortion ban.
Rep. John Duarte added that he opposes a ban as a result of he’s “pro-choice,” and Calvert mentioned “the issue is best decided with the states and their voters directly.” Both voted for a invoice to restrict medicine abortion and supported a measure that might have authorized prison time for medical suppliers who don’t resuscitate infants born after an tried abortion.
Tim Rosales, a political strategist who has represented Republican candidates, mentioned these incumbents shouldn’t get warmth for altering their minds over time, noting that Democratic former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama reversed their positions on same-sex marriage.
“There has to be some allowance for evolution on a variety of issues,” Rosales mentioned.
Ben Petersen, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, mentioned Democrats who’ve known as out Republicans for inconsistencies wish to transfer the dialog away from different subjects, such because the “disastrous cost of living crisis hurting women and families caused by their one-party control of Sacramento.”
This political dance is taking part in out on the nationwide stage, particularly in battleground races the place Republicans discover themselves on protection in states the place abortion is on the poll. Roughly two dozen races are thought of toss-ups.
In a March publish on the social platform X, Republican Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon wrote, “I’ve always defended the life of the mother,” after his Democratic rival, Tony Vargas, known as him out for supporting a national abortion ban, which makes no exceptions for instances wherein the mom’s life is in danger. That similar month, Rolling Stone reported that the Omaha-area congressman had deleted some anti-abortion endorsements from his web site. Nebraskans will vote this November on competing abortion ballot measures.
In Arizona, the place voters may even be requested whether or not to enshrine abortion rights into the state structure, Republican incumbent David Schweikert this yr didn’t assist a nationwide abortion ban, which he had co-sponsored at the least six occasions from 2012 to 2021. In April, he wrote on X that he opposed an abortion ban in Arizona, calling on the state legislature to “address this issue immediately.”
On the airwaves, on their web sites, and on the marketing campaign path, Republican candidates are pivoting to persuade voters that they’ve voted to guard girls. For instance, Steel this month launched an ad titled “Champion,” wherein the Orange County sheriff says Steel has “worked tirelessly to protect victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse.”
Trover, the Steel spokesperson, mentioned she voted two years in the past to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. That vote was on a bigger $1.5 trillion government spending bill, which included the measure.
The yr earlier than, Steel voted against reauthorizing the act.
This article was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially impartial service of the California Health Care Foundation.
Molly Castle Work:
[email protected],
@mollycastlework
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