Among the most notable takeaways from this week’s Republican presidential primary debate was the degree to which the candidates talked abortion rights. As The New York Times reported, the chair of the Republican National Committee was apparently “very pleased” with what she heard.
Even as Republicans’ efforts to restrict abortion rights appear to have hurt candidates in key races over the last year, the party’s chairwoman said on Thursday morning that she welcomed the protracted — and at times, contentious — discussion of the topic in the first Republican presidential debate on Wednesday night. “I was very pleased to see them talk about abortion,” Ronna McDaniel, the chair of the Republican National Committee, said on “Fox & Friends.”
In the same interview, the RNC chair added, “If our candidates aren’t able to find a response and put out a response, we’re not going to win.”
Hours later, The Washington Post published an op-ed co-authored by Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway, Donald Trump’s former campaign manager and White House counselor, and Marjorie Dannenfelser, who leads Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. The message was unsubtle: The opinion piece encouraged Republicans to “go on offense“ when it comes to reproductive rights.
It’s likely that many Democrats hope to see GOP candidates follow the advice.
In fact, just this morning, President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign unveiled a new ad, which is part of a 16-week, $25 million advertising campaign targeting voters in several battleground states. The minute-long spot doesn’t just tout the Democratic incumbent’s support for reproductive rights, it also highlights Republican efforts to impose new restrictions on reproductive care — even using clips from this week’s primary debate.
There’s no great mystery as to why Democrats are eager to wage this fight. Not only is there extensive public opinion research pointing to a clear disadvantage for Republicans, but both parties need only to look at recent election results in Ohio, Wisconsin, Kansas, and New York, on top of the 2022 midterm elections in which the GOP fell far short of expectations — due in large part to the party’s opposition to reproductive rights.
Despite this recent history, it appears that many prominent Republican voices genuinely believe that the party and its candidates can somehow prevail despite pushing unpopular ideas that much of the country take quite seriously.
Common sense suggests party leaders should be looking for a way to shift the GOP agenda away from radical restrictions on reproductive rights. The more Republicans try to overpower Americans’ attitudes on abortion rights, the happier Democratic strategists will be.
