Republican Blake Masters is up with a new television advertisement explaining his position on abortion as he seeks to come from behind and unseat Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ).
In a 30-second spot that appears set in a children’s playroom, with two children playing in the foreground, Masters declares that “most people support commonsense regulation around abortion. But Mark Kelly votes for the most extreme abortion laws in the world.” The well-crafted ad suggests Masters is vulnerable on the issue in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling that eliminated federal protections for abortion rights.
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However, Masters’s message could appeal to voters and put Kelly on the defensive.
Democratic politicians tend to support abortion rights under any circumstance. But public opinion polls have shown that a majority of voters support some government restrictions on abortion rights, particularly those addressing late-term pregnancy abortions. And that is the issue Masters focused on in his spot.
“Look, I support a ban on very late-term and partial-birth abortion — and most Americans agree with that. That would just put us on par with other civilized nations,” Masters says. “Mark Kelly? The only countries that support his no-limits, extreme abortion policies are China and North Korea.”
One topic Masters does not address in this ad: at what point in pregnancy he believes government restrictions on abortion should kick in.
In a Fox News poll of registered voters conducted Aug. 12-16, Kelly led Masters 50% to 42%. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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Masters won the Republican nomination for Senate earlier this month on the strength of an endorsement from former President Donald Trump. He also enjoyed strong financial backing from venture capitalist and GOP megadonor Peter Thiel, whom he formerly worked for.
