Several Republican candidates in battleground states have joined former President Donald J. Trump in calling for a nationwide ban, after he said abortion access should be left to individual states. This exposed the rift within the party over the issue.
The shift in direction was particularly pronounced among several Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate, where Democrats control a narrow 51-49 majority.
If Trump wins the November election, Republicans would only have to flip one seat, but the losses for Republican candidates will continue to pile up since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022. I've seen it with my own eyes. , the widely predicted “red wave” did not materialize for Republicans, who missed opportunities to flip the Senate in Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Arizona and canceled key gubernatorial races, including Michigan.
“I agree with President Trump that abortion issues should be decided at the state level,” said Mike Rogers, a longtime congressman from Michigan who was endorsed by Trump in that state's open U.S. Senate seat. said in a statement.
While a member of Congress in 2013, Rogers was one of 131 Republican co-sponsors of the Life at Conception Act, an unsuccessful fetal personhood bill.
Republican Kari Lake, who failed in the 2022 gubernatorial race and is running for Senate in the battleground state of Arizona, also joined Trump.
“I agree with President Trump. I do not support a federal ban on abortion. Policy should be left to each state,” she wrote on Monday's X.
In Ohio, Bernie Moreno, a wealthy former car dealer who won a closely contested Republican Senate primary last month with Trump's support, made a similar stand.
“Bernie has always maintained that decisions should be made primarily at the state level,” Moreno campaign communications director Regan McCarthy said in an email. “He is comfortable with any path forward to end elective late-term abortions, with reasonable exceptions, and save as many babies as possible.”
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, who is running for re-election in what the nonpartisan Cook Political Report classified as a “solid Republican” seat, also supported a state-by-state approach.
“We don't have a referendum system in our country, so the way voters vote is by voting in the United States,” he told reporters at the Capitol on Monday. “I only see this as a voter issue. Let me be clear: I'm pro-life. I'm going to argue for pro-life laws. I hope I have the opportunity to vote in my state. I'm going to vote for the position that I think is the most pro-life, except for rape, incest, and mother's life.”
Robert Jimison Contributed to reporting from Washington.direct current