Florida’s Demings makes abortion a wedge issue in bid to unseat Marco Rubio

Rep. Val Demings, the likely Democratic nominee to challenge GOP Sen. Marco Rubio for his seat in November, is attempting to reset her struggling campaign by putting Rubio’s views on abortion front and center. Demings’s campaign is the first, but likely not the last, Democratic effort to adopt this tactic in the 2022 cycle.

Wasting no time after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which found that the Constitution does not guarantee the right to an abortion, Demings launched a campaign website titled “Rubio’s Plan for Women” and is running a digital ad attacking the senator for his stances on abortion and other women’s issues.

Accusing Rubio of seeking to “control women” and supporting “forced pregnancies,” the ad highlights the senator’s previous opposition to abortion from the point of conception, even in cases of rape and incest.

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Additionally, the ad alleged that Rubio “wrote the bill to criminalize doctors,” referencing his co-sponsorship of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act early last year, which would have made it a federal crime for doctors to perform abortions after a fetus is 20 weeks old. The bill was introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and was co-sponsored by 45 Republican senators.

Demings’s new website features what she describes as “Rubio’s Radical Agenda for Women,” outlining a series of anti-abortion positions taken by the senator during his political career, including his past statements backing the overturning of Roe and his support for prosecuting abortion doctors.

Also featured on the website is a 2010 candidate survey from Rubio’s first Senate run in which he indicated that he favored banning the abortion-inducing drug mifepristone (commonly known as “the abortion pill”), supported giving parents of minors or spouses of adults who are seeking an abortion the right to “intervene” or “stop” the procedure from taking place, and backed enacting a constitutional amendment banning abortion except to protect the life of the mother.

Rubio clarified his uncompromising position on abortion in a 2015 CNN interview, defending his resistance to rape and incest exceptions.

“I personally and honestly and deeply believe that all human life is worthy of protection, irrespective of the circumstances in which that human life was created,” he said at the time. “I personally believe that you do not correct one tragedy with a second tragedy.”

A spokeswoman for Rubio’s campaign defended his record while criticizing Demings for her own stance on abortion, asserting to the Washington Examiner that “Val Demings supports abortion up until the moment of birth and expects Florida taxpayers to foot the bill.”

Demings’s attempts to center abortion and deflect from issues that poll worse for Democrats, such as inflation, gas prices, and crime, come as Democrats push to adopt the same approach nationally ahead of this November’s midterm elections. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe last week, President Joe Biden told voters that expanded Democratic majorities in Congress could allow for abortion rights to be codified into federal law, arguing that “this fall, Roe is on the ballot.” And Democratic candidates across the country are harnessing abortion rights for messaging and fundraising purposes, seeking to use left-wing outrage over the high court’s ruling to reinvigorate campaigns that have so far struggled to generate momentum.

But Republicans are pushing back. Rubio’s campaign was quick to condemn efforts to shift the race’s focus away from economic issues.

“Demings is desperate to divert attention from her fervent support of Joe Biden’s agenda, which led to skyrocketing inflation and record-high gas prices,” the senator’s campaign spokeswoman told the Washington Examiner. “When Floridians go to the ballot box in November, they’re going to blame Val Demings and Democratic-controlled Washington for the extra $460 a month that they’re spending on basic necessities.”

Demings’s attempt to use abortion as a political wedge also comes with risks of its own. While her new website slams Rubio as “bad for Florida women,” the senator unveiled legislation in the wake of the Dobbs ruling that he said would represent “concrete steps” to “provide real, meaningful aid to mothers and their babies.”

Among other provisions, Rubio’s newly released Providing for Life Act would significantly expand the child tax credit and allow pregnant mothers to claim the credit for their unborn children. Additionally, the bill would allow Social Security benefits to be used to finance paid parental leave, boost funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, and attempt to encourage adoption by making the adoption tax credit fully refundable to adoptive parents.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

In a recent op-ed for the Washington Examiner, Rubio promoted his legislation by noting that being anti-abortion must extend beyond the point of birth and that opposing abortion ought to be just the first step for anti-abortion advocates.

“The pro-life movement has always been opposed to abortion. And rightly so — the right to life is the most basic right of all,” the senator wrote. “But often overlooked in media coverage is pro-lifers’ commitment to helping and protecting mothers and their babies, both before and after birth. That plays out every day in communities and houses of worship all across the country.”

“Now, we need to take it a step further and see that it plays out in Washington, D.C. It’s the only way to make a truly pro-life America a reality,” he continued.

Demings’s congressional spokesman declined to say whether or not she supports the framework for the Providing for Life Act, instead referring the Washington Examiner to her Senate campaign. The Washington Examiner reached out to Demings’s campaign for comment but did not receive a response.