Republican Senate candidates in key races aligning with Trump on abortion stance
In critical 2024 battleground states, Republican Senate candidates are adapting their abortion stances to align with Trump’s messaging, deviating from strict anti-abortion positions. The shift responds to Democrats’ success with pro-abortion rights messaging and signals a move towards state-led decisions on the issue. Candidates like Kari Lake and Sam Brown are among those adjusting their views to reflect broader support.
In key 2024 battleground states, some Senate Republican candidates are shifting their stances on abortion rights in an attempt to blunt Democrats’ previous success running on the issue and to embrace similar messaging outlined by former President Donald Trump.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has adopted a stance in which he avoids calling for a national abortion ban and supports exceptions for rape, incest, and when the life of the mother is at stake. The messaging has been exactly what top officials at the National Republican Senatorial Committee have been encouraging Republican candidates to embrace for months. Now, many GOP candidates are backing away from their previously strict anti-abortion stances.
A poll from Politico-Morning Consult found that three-fifths of Republicans support leaving abortion to the states, though the share jumped to three-fourths when told that it was Trump’s stated position. The share of independents who support the position also jumped from 47% to 51% when told it was Trump’s position.
The shift comes as Democrats have repeatedly won elections across the country by embracing their support for abortion rights in the months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Arizona Republican Senate hopeful Kari Lake has reshaped her stance; she called abortion “execution” during her failed 2022 gubernatorial run. After the Arizona Supreme Court upheld a 19th-century restriction on abortion, Lake came out against the ruling, which Arizona lawmakers currently are working to repeal before enforcement of the near-total abortion ban can begin.
“If you look at where the population is on this, a full ban on abortion is not where the people are,” Lake said in a social media video that she posted, in which she’s shown speaking over dramatic instrumentals and images of women and pregnancy tests. However, she had previously praised the law, known as ARS 13-3603.
“I’m incredibly thrilled that we are going to have a great law that’s already on the books,” Lake said on a conservative radio show in 2022. “I believe it’s ARS 13-3603, so it will prohibit abortion in Arizona, except to save the life of a mother. And I think we’re going to be paving the way and setting course for other states to follow.”
“Arizona’s law currently allows abortions up to 15 weeks, and Kari does not support a federal ban on abortion. Abortion is, as the courts decided, an issue for states to decide, not the federal government,” Lake’s campaign website says.
“Kari has made her stance quite clear: She is pro-life but doesn’t believe in a federal abortion ban. Her focus is saving babies and providing resources for women,” a Lake campaign spokesman said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner.
In Nevada, GOP Senate candidate Sam Brown’s position has shifted since he first ran for a seat in the Texas legislature in 2014. He had opposed exceptions for rape and incest in the past but has changed his views and is now embracing them. He previously backed a 20-week ban in Texas and now said he would not impose that in Nevada.
In an interview with NBC News in February, he and his wife revealed that she had an abortion before they met. In the same interview, Brown embraced Nevada’s state law, which allows abortions up to 24 weeks, and he emphasized that states should be allowed to set their own standards.
“Amy and I have spoken extensively about this topic and believe, first and foremost, that mothers who are facing an unplanned pregnancy deserve the utmost compassion and understanding,” Brown said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner. “I am pro-life, with the exception of rape, incest, and the life of the mother. Like President Trump, I believe the issue is now correctly left at the state level and applaud his leadership.”
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who is running for reelection in Florida, had previously vowed to sign a six-week abortion ban into law as governor. In an interview with Spectrum News two weeks ago, Scott reaffirmed those previous statements.
“If I was the sitting governor, and the six-week abortion ban came in front of me, I would sign it. I’ve always said I would sign it,” he said in the interview.
Now that Florida has allowed a six-week ban to take effect in May, Scott has said he believes there should be a 15-week limit after studying information from polls and focus groups. The Florida senator has recently endorsed Trump’s stance, and agrees that the issue should be left to the states to decide.
“We ought to be where the consensus is,” Scott said, speaking to the Washington Times. “In my state, that consensus is 15 weeks.”
As a former member of Congress, Mike Rogers said he only supported abortions “to prevent the death of the mother.” As a member of the House from 2001 to 2015, Rogers co-sponsored four different fetal personhood bills that would completely ban abortion nationwide: in 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2013.
However, now as a candidate for Senate in Michigan, Rogers has shifted his stance after announcing his campaign for Senate. He has pledged not to support federal laws that limit abortion if they do not align with Michigan’s law, which currently allows the procedure up to 24 weeks.
In Pennsylvania, Dave McCormick had previously said he only supported limited exceptions for abortion and said in April 2022 that in “very rare instances there should be exceptions for the life of the mother.” On his campaign website at the time, he wrote that he is “staunchly pro-life and believes that life begins at conception.” However, his campaign has recently clarified his stance.
“Dave recognizes that this is an incredibly polarizing issue and we need to seek policies that unify the country. Dave is pro-life, is opposed to a national abortion ban, and supports exceptions in the cases of rape, incest, and saving the life of the mother,” a spokeswoman for McCormick’s campaign said in a statement. “In Pennsylvania, the current law, supported by both Republicans and Democrats, means abortion is legal through 24 weeks.”
In Wisconsin, Eric Hovde had previously said he was “totally opposed to abortion” when he was running for Senate in the primary in 2012.
After he announced his campaign for Senate in February, Hovde had an updated stance on abortion which included exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother and that abortion policy should be left to state voters.
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The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has made it clear they will continue to target Senate Republican hopefuls over this issue.
“On record and on video, Republican Senate candidates have already made it clear they oppose women’s right to make their own healthcare decisions and stand in lockstep with their party’s agenda to ban abortion nationwide and without exceptions,” said DSCC spokesman Tommy Garcia in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “Voters will hold GOP Senate candidates accountable for their well-documented records.”
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