Abortion was literally, directly on the ballot in Kansas on Tuesday, and voters overwhelmingly rejected the effort to open the door to an abortion ban. But abortion will also be on the ballot when voters go to the polls in November. Which means it’s worth a reminder of what Republican senators and Senate candidates were saying in the first flush of Republican triumph over the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
Rep. Ted Budd, the Republican Senate nominee in North Carolina, was jubilant, calling Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization an “historic victory for the millions of Americans who believe that every life is precious and deserves protection. And it is a victory for the millions of unborn children who may now realize the most fundamental of all human rights, the right to life.” Budd also gestured at the possibility of future action, saying, “As a conscience-driven pro-life advocate, I will continue to support protections for unborn children everywhere.”
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When the draft opinion leaked, Pennsylvania Republican nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz celebrated it, tweeting, “The Court is right. Roe was wrongly decided. Abortion laws should be left up to the American people and their elected representatives. I look forward to supporting pro-life legislation that saves innocent lives in the U.S. Senate.”
J.D. Vance, the Republican nominee in Ohio, hailed “a great day” that was ushering in a “new phase of the pro-life movement.” He, too, suggested that he would support federal legislation restricting or banning abortion.
Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin called Dobbs “a victory for life and for those who have fought for decades to protect the unborn.”
Herschel Walker, the Georgia Republican Senate nominee, initially responded to Dobbs by saying, “I stand for life and Raphael Warnock stands for abortion.” But close to a month later, after the state started moving forward on its own abortion ban, Walker wanted to change the subject, telling reporters who asked him about it, “You’re going to bring up things that people are not concerned about.” Then again, the ever-consistent and coherent Walker also said, “There’s not a national ban on abortion right now and I think that’s a problem.”
In Arizona, Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters tweeted that Dobbs was “a huge victory for children across this country.” That’s no surprise: Masters had previously called for a federal abortion ban, saying, “The federal government needs to step in and say, 'We recognize life here and no state can permit abortion.’” Masters has also said the courts should overturn Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court decision affirming the right to contraception.
These are the candidates the Republican Party is trying to elect to the Senate in some of the key battleground states this year. They celebrate the end of Roe v. Wade and in many cases have explicitly said they would support a federal abortion ban. When voters look at their ballots and see these names, they should know what a vote for Oz or Walker or Vance or Masters or Johnson or Budd would mean.
Abortion rights, gun safety, and the our planet are all at stake in this election. We must persuade Democratic voters to turn out in November. Click here to volunteer with Vote Forward and write personalized letters to targeted voters on your own schedule from the comfort of your own home, without ever having to talk to anyone.
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