In footage recorded at a meeting in July of 2017, Democratic congressional candidate Josh Harder appears to signal support for abortion through all nine months of a pregnancy.
Video taken during a gathering of the Our Revolution chapter in Turlock, Calif., on July 26 of that year documents Harder wading into a conversation about the Hyde Amendment, which bars federal funds from paying for abortion. “If I’m in Congress, I will absolutely sponsor legislation to overturn that,” he says. “And the reason for that, is I’m 100 percent pro-choice. And the reason for that is that, is I think that women should be, and are the best judges for what they can actually have with their bodies.”
“So pro-choice, full nine terms?” an audience member asks. “Yes,” Harder replies.
“No exceptions?” the person follows up. “No exceptions,” says Harder.
Footage of the meeting that appears to have been taken by a tracker was uploaded to YouTube in Sept. of 2017, but Our Revolution Turlock broadcast the entire event on Facebook Live as it happened. The full video is available here (relevant portion begins around the 42:00 minute mark).
On his website, Harder pledges to “advocate for a woman’s right to choose as well as access to affordable and quality reproductive services.”
Harder is running in a close race to unseat incumbent GOP Rep. Jeff Denham in California’s 10th Congressional District. He received an endorsement from former President Barack Obama in August, and the former president rallied on his behalf earlier this month. As of Monday, FiveThirtyEight rates the race as leaning Democratic. Hillary Clinton won the district by a three-point margin in 2016 — the same margin by which Denham won his own race.
