House Republicans in vulnerable seats are adopting a “commonsense” stance on abortion.
Republicans in Vulnerable House Seats Seek Middle Ground on Abortion
Republicans in vulnerable House seats are taking a strategic approach to abortion policy, aiming to differentiate themselves from more conservative members of the party. Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY) believes that Democrats will not be able to unseat him in 2024 by making abortion the central issue.
“They tried that in 2022, and my opponent spent $3.1 million trying to paint me as that when that’s not the case. I do believe in exceptions for rape, incest, the life of the mother. And I do not oppose abortion in the first trimester,” LaLota said.
“We won by 11 points, so if they want to light that money on fire in 2024 again, that’s their decision,” he continued.
Despite being in a Republican +3 district, LaLota won the 2022 election against his Democratic opponent with a 54.1%-43.4% margin, according to the Cook Partisan Voting Index. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has identified LaLota’s seat, along with five others in New York, as targets for the 2024 election.
Republicans secured a narrow majority in the House of Representatives in the 2022 elections, largely due to victories in swing districts like those in New York. However, states where abortion laws were on the ballot, such as Michigan, saw Republicans suffer significant defeats.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) has emphasized the need for Republicans to find a “middle ground” on abortion to avoid major losses in future elections.
“I want us to find some middle ground. As a Republican, a conservative, constitutional conservative who’s pro-life, I saw what happened after Roe v. Wade because I represent a very purple district — as purple as this dress,” Mace said on ABC’s This Week in April. “And I saw the sentiment change dramatically, and as Republicans, we need to read the room on this issue because the vast majority of folks are not in the extremes.”
“That is the wrong message heading into ’24. We’re going to lose huge if we continue down this path of extremities,” she added. “And finding that middle ground: The vast majority of people want some sort of gestational limits, not at nine months but somewhere in the middle. They want exceptions for rape and incest. They want women to have access to birth control. These are all very commonsense positions that we can take and still be pro-life.”
Mace narrowly won the 2020 election against then-Rep. Joe Cunningham with a 50.6%-49.3% margin. In 2022, she secured a victory by nearly 14 points in the newly reformed Republican +7 district, according to the Cook Partisan Voting Index.
The 2022 midterm elections took place after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, returning the decision on abortion laws to the states. The 2024 House elections will occur alongside the presidential race, where President Joe Biden has made abortion rights a central campaign issue.
Former Vice President Mike Pence has been the most vocal GOP presidential candidate on abortion, advocating for a federal 15-week abortion ban.
“Every Republican candidate for president should support a ban on abortion before 15 weeks as a minimum nationwide standard,” Pence said at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s “Road to Majority” policy conference.
The Republicans aim to maintain or expand their 222-212 majority in the lower chamber of Congress in 2024, following their successful recapture of the House in 2022.
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