Republicans are trying to find a new term for ‘pro-life’ to stave off more electoral losses
WASHINGTON — Republican strategists are exploring a shift away from “pro-life” messaging on abortion after consistent Election Day losses for the GOP when reproductive rights were on the ballot. At a closed-door meeting of Senate Republicans this week, the head of a super PAC closely aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., presented poll results that suggested voters are reacting differently to commonly used terms like “pro-life” and “pro-choice” in the wake of last year’s Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, said several senators who were in the room.
“What intrigued me the most about the results was that ‘pro-choice’ and ‘pro-life’ means something different now, that people see being pro-life as being against all abortions ... at all levels,” Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said in an interview Thursday.
A national strategist who worked on Senate races last year said: “The issue of abortion was problematic for Republicans last cycle, so it’s no surprise [the Senate Leadership Fund] is polling public perception of the issue. It’s the smart thing to do.”
Christina Reynolds, a spokesperson for Emily’s List, an organization that promotes female candidates who support abortion rights, said Republicans’ shift in messaging is “underestimating” voters’ understanding of the issue, adding that “wrapping it up nicely” would not change voters’ minds about abortion. “I think their messaging was not the problem. Their position is the problem, and they’re going to be stuck with those positions,” Reynolds said. “At the end of the day, voters are clear in poll after poll and in election results after election results that they believe that people should have the right to make their own health care decisions, that they support abortion rights, that they supported Roe v. Wade.”
WASHINGTON — Republican strategists are exploring a shift away from “pro-life” messaging on abortion after consistent Election Day losses for the GOP when reproductive rights were on the ballot. At a closed-door meeting of Senate Republicans this week, the head of a super PAC closely aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., presented poll results that suggested voters are reacting differently to commonly used terms like “pro-life” and “pro-choice” in the wake of last year’s Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, said several senators who were in the room.
“What intrigued me the most about the results was that ‘pro-choice’ and ‘pro-life’ means something different now, that people see being pro-life as being against all abortions ... at all levels,” Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said in an interview Thursday.
A national strategist who worked on Senate races last year said: “The issue of abortion was problematic for Republicans last cycle, so it’s no surprise [the Senate Leadership Fund] is polling public perception of the issue. It’s the smart thing to do.”
Christina Reynolds, a spokesperson for Emily’s List, an organization that promotes female candidates who support abortion rights, said Republicans’ shift in messaging is “underestimating” voters’ understanding of the issue, adding that “wrapping it up nicely” would not change voters’ minds about abortion. “I think their messaging was not the problem. Their position is the problem, and they’re going to be stuck with those positions,” Reynolds said. “At the end of the day, voters are clear in poll after poll and in election results after election results that they believe that people should have the right to make their own health care decisions, that they support abortion rights, that they supported Roe v. Wade.”
