Then Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (RS.C.) introduced legislation to ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy — overshadowing new inflation numbers and undermining what many GOP strategists consider their best message on fall: “Leave it to the states.” “It’s an absolute disaster,” GOP strategist John Thomas said, as Republican Senate candidates already targeted for their comments on abortion were asked to weigh in. . The same day Graham unveiled his plan, the GOP-controlled West Virginia Legislature passed a tougher measure to ban nearly all abortions. And former Vice President Mike Pence told Real Clear Politics that pushing for a national abortion ban and individual state restrictions “is profoundly more important than any short-term policy.” Since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in June, Republicans push for more favorable political ground on abortion, polls and election results show The issue disproportionately pushes voters to vote for Democrats. But as the GOP looks for an effective counterargument to Democratic attacks on dozens of candidates who want to restrict abortion, it’s sending an increasingly confused message to voters eight weeks before the midterm elections. Some candidates are downplaying or backing away from past support for strict bans, while others are pushing the debate on federal restrictions that many want to avoid. Democrats are pouncing on those mixed messages to hammer home the simpler message they’ve been pushing for months, warning that Republicans want to continue eroding access to abortion even after the high court stripped a constitutional right to the procedure. Democratic pollster Molly Murphy said Graham’s 15-week bill, released Tuesday, only strengthened the argument that Republicans will try to enact major new restrictions if they gain control of Congress. “I feel like I’ve been on a rollercoaster of a day between ‘What 3D chess are they playing?’ to come up with, “It’s not,” said Murphy, who is working on the Arizona Senate race. Asked whether they would support Graham’s legislation, most GOP candidates in the closest Senate races gave mixed answers or did not answer. And while Masters said he would “of course” support Graham’s bill, his campaign spokesman retweeted a message that seemed to channel some GOP grumbling about Graham’s announcement: “Why why why why why.” The assistant, Zach Henry, removed the retweet Tuesday night and said he was not speaking for Masters. More than half of registered voters oppose a 15-week abortion ban with exceptions for the mother’s health, according to a Wall Street Journal poll last month. While Masters has drawn particular attention for shifting positions — clarifying only after his primary victory that a nationwide abortion ban should target third-trimester and “partial-birth” abortions — other GOP candidates have also backed down or downplayed their opinions. In Minnesota, GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen — who once said he would “try to ban abortion” as governor — recently released an ad that began, “In Minnesota, [abortion] it is an enshrined constitutional right and no governor can change it. And I’m not running to do that.” In Michigan, Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon has made an explicit appeal to voters likely to reject her support for a ban on abortion throughout pregnancy with exceptions only for the life of the mother. “And that’s exactly how you can vote for Gretchen Whitmer’s abortion agenda and still vote against her,” Dixon tweeted last week, referring to her Democratic opponent, after the Michigan Supreme Court cleared the way for a November ballot measure that asked whether the state constitution should guarantee access to abortion. Thomas, the GOP strategist, said he thinks candidates in close races are smart to attempt a “pivot” on abortion. It’s not a winning issue for Republicans, he argued, “but the goal is to appease voters with concerns … so the candidate can get back to talking about the higher priority issues.” But “will voters buy it?” Thomas said of the candidate shifts. “Hard to say.” Further complicating the Republican field: Some GOP officials are pushing state-level bans that are much stricter than Graham’s proposal. Republicans tried to shift the focus to Democrats’ positions, noting that the United States is one of fewer than a dozen countries that allow elective abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. But even some anti-abortion advocates say the other side has more energy on their end Roe sparks dramatic new abortion restrictions in swing states. Chuck Coughlin, an Arizona GOP strategist, called the 15-week ban a “realistic” stance — especially compared to the much stricter law working its way through the courts in his state. One of Masters’ former opponents in the primary, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, has argued for enforcing that ban, which dates back to the 1800s and prohibits all abortions except to save the life of the mother. Democrats have said they see a compelling case against Republicans, even with efforts to rally the party behind less restrictive bans such as Graham’s proposal, which would allow the vast majority of abortions to continue but marks a sharp departure from the 24 week standard. Roe. “The Republican national abortion ban will be on the ballot in every Senate race,” Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), chairman of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, said in a statement. Vulnerable Democrats in states where abortion remains legal — who have argued for months that their opponents could help pass national restrictions — immediately blasted Graham’s proposal. In Nevada, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D) again claimed her opponent, former state attorney general Adam Laxalt, would support a federal abortion ban. Laxalt denied this in an op-ed last month, but his campaign did not respond to a request for comment about Graham’s legislation. In New Hampshire, Sen. Maggie Hassan (D) said “Republicans are moving forward” on “a bill that bans abortion — no matter where you live.” But abortion restrictions are unlikely to pass the Senate even if the GOP regains control of the chamber in November — a political reality that several senators nodded to on Tuesday. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said he will not eliminate a toddler to pass abortion legislation, meaning any such bill would require 60 votes in the chamber to overcome a procedural obstacle. In the White House, President Biden is certain to veto any such measure even if it reaches his desk. On Tuesday, McConnell declined to commit to bringing Graham’s bill to the floor, while Sen. John Thune (RS.D.), his top deputy, said he would “like to see the federal government get out of the business of abortions”. “I think every Republican senator who’s in these contentious races this year has an answer for how they feel about the issue,” McConnell said. “And it may be different in different states, so I leave it up to our candidates who are competent enough to handle this issue to determine for them what their answer is.” Asked if the GOP should be more united on abortion, Graham said candidates should go with what they are “personally” comfortable with. Some Republicans said they saw no problem with differing positions on abortion — as long as the GOP could steer the debate back toward inflation and other issues on which they have a more unified stance. Republican strategist Doug Hay, a former RNC communications director, said that “in theory, you always want” a coherent party message. But “the Republicans almost got it [former president Donald] Trump was re-elected without even having a party platform,” he added. Leading anti-abortion groups have been pushing to limit the procedure at the federal level since the Supreme Court overturned Roe. Late last month, Students for Life Action sent a letter to every Republican in the House and Senate, arguing that the federal government should establish limits at the national level. “We cannot leave ending abortion injustice to states alone. All of us at every level of society, and especially lawmakers, must reverse nearly 50 years of public policy that has allowed the harmful harms of abortion to continue with taxpayer support,” wrote Kristan Hawkins, the group’s president. Opponents of federal restrictions also made their case Tuesday on Capitol Hill. Ashbey Beasley was there to meet with Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.) to discuss an assault weapons ban after she and her son survived a shooting in Highland Park, Ill. on July 4 — but took a quick detour after seeing that Graham was holding a press conference to introduce his new legislation. After the event was over, she got up to share that she discovered her son had a fetal abnormality at 16 weeks. After undergoing multiple surgeries on the womb, she said, she and her husband decided to deliver the baby so it would live outside the womb until it died eight days later. But she argued that other women should have abortion as an option. “What do you say to a woman like me?” asked.
