EXCLUSIVE — Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel says Republicans “have to address” abortion in the midterm elections but would rather highlight the “extreme positions of the Democrats” rather than put forward a unified GOP position on the topic.
The economy consistently polls as the issue most important to midterm election voters in both parties, but this past summer’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which effectively rolled back federal abortion protections, has reanimated Democratic voters heading into November. Polling shows a clear majority of all Americans favor codifying Roe v. Wade in some capacity.
MCDANIEL: GOP’S INVESTMENT IN HISPANIC COMMUNITIES WILL DELIVER BID MIDTERM WINS
McDaniel, the national Republican campaign head, told the Washington Examiner in an interview that Dobbs returns abortion oversight to the states and stressed that candidates must find a “consensus in their specific state.”
“What Dobbs did is it doesn’t abolish abortion,” she stated. “Abortions are still happening in California, in New York, a lot of these states had that codified already, but candidates need to address it.”
“It’s something voters want to hear,” McDaniel continued. “But [GOP candidates] have to talk about the extremists of the Democrats.”
McDaniel claimed Democrats “agree with having gender selection abortion” and no time limits on any abortions, which she claimed “close to 80% of the country does not agree with.”
“They want limits, so address it, but then treat voters like the whole voter,” she added.
McDaniel sought to downplay the topic’s importance, especially among female voters, and claimed that viewing women as a single-issue bloc is “demeaning.”
“Women don’t wake up thinking about abortion every day, all day. We are really worried about the deficits our kids are facing in schools. We are very worried about crime. We are very worried about the high price of gas and rent prices and grocery prices. So we have to encompass the whole voter as we talk about this issue, and not just focus on one single issue,” she told the Washington Examiner.
Still, McDaniel did not directly answer how Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) recently introduced national abortion ban and similar calls for federal restrictions from leading Republicans square with stated GOP positions of limiting government and protecting civil liberties.
“Well, I think the Dobbs decision does exactly what Republicans have always thought, is that it should go back to the states,” she responded. “I think [Graham] was trying to highlight the extreme position of Democrats, that they do believe that abortion should take place on a woman’s due date.”
“I think most voters think that’s egregious, that when a baby can live, that you shouldn’t be having an abortion, it shouldn’t be taxpayer-funded,” McDaniel closed. “Across the board, Republicans believe that the states are the right place [to handle abortion]. Every state is different, and states will deal with it in their own time.”
Asked about McDaniel’s comments, Democratic Party officials said there is no separating Republicans with proposed nationwide bans.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Ronna McDaniel can’t spin the unspinnable. Over 100 congressional Republicans have signed on to support Lindsey Graham’s national abortion ban,” DNC spokeswoman Brooke Goren told the Washington Examiner. “It doesn’t stop there — Republicans in states across the country are loudly discussing policies that could ban birth control and even IVF treatments.”
