After massive election losses, Republicans can’t decide if abortion is hot or not

Republicans expressed frustration over voters rallying around abortion rights, costing the GOP a number of elections Tuesday night.

A number of Republicans tried to tone down the abortion rhetoric before the election in an effort to appease more moderate voters.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) touted a "compromise" between far-right conservatives and Democrats that would ban abortions after 15 weeks with exceptions for rape, incest, and saving the life of the mother. Current state law allows abortions up to 26 weeks.

But the proposal was rejected Tuesday, as Virginia voters elected to hand Democrats complete control of the state legislature—all but dashing any chance for Youngkin to restrict abortions.

In Ohio, 56.6% of voters decided Tuesday to enshrine abortion and reproductive rights into the state constitution in another sign that restricting access to abortion is not a winning issue in swing states.

In Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear (D) was reelected by a 5% margin. His Republican opponent, Daniel Cameron, frequently reiterated his anti-abortion stance and support for the state's current, near-total ban on abortion.

"My opponent’s position would give a rapist more rights than their victim. It is wrong. We need to change this law," Beshear said in October.

Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson told NBC News that Tuesday's elections, as well as past wins for reproductive rights advocates in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade "is people showing they’re worried about the consequences that come from extremism … in red states like Kentucky, purple states in Virginia and everything in between."

Following Tuesday's losses, Republicans vocalized their frustration about finding a unifying message on abortion.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) argued on X Wednesday that "Republicans did not lose because of abortion itself, it’s how the party handles the issue or rather does not handle the issue."

She added in the post that abortion is "murder," not healthcare or a right.

"Abortion is genocide and none of their screams are heard when each of them are slaughtered in their mother’s wombs," Greene said before suggesting Republicans create ads "that graphically show the truth of an abortion."

Critics mocked Greene's take, with one responding that "'we need to double down on our losing strategy' is a bold strategy."

"Couldn’t agree more. GOP needs to run on a national abortion ban platform for ‘24. Don’t be cowards. Go for it," another user wrote sarcastically.

But while Greene painted abortion as an issue of "genocide" that candidates aren't being aggressive enough about, a separate Republican painted it as a "very sexy" issue motivating young voters to turn out.

"You put very sexy things like abortion and marijuana on the ballot and a lot of young people come out and vote," said former Republican senator Rick Santorum. "It was a secret sauce for disaster in Ohio."

Democrats are hopeful Tuesday's wins indicate there could be momentum continuing into 2024, as many candidates have already placed a strong emphasis on abortion rights as part of their campaigns.

"All of my opponents would support a national abortion ban," wrote Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) on Wednesday. Brown's seat is rated as a toss-up by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

President Joe Biden in a statement called Tuesday's results evidence "democracy won," and said the GOP's "extreme and dangerous agenda is out-of-step with the vast majority of Americans."

"My Administration will continue to protect access to reproductive health care and call on Congress to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade in federal law once and for all," he said.

The Democrat-led Senate Judiciary Committee posted on X: "Abortion rights have won every time they’ve been on the ballot since the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade. Every. Single. Time."

Democratic opposition researcher Pat Dennis told the New York Times there is plenty of material to cast former President Donald Trump as anti-abortion in the lead-up to the 2024 election, saying Tuesday's "races end this claim that these red states are all in on Trump—that there’s no nuance."

"Trump has extraordinary weakness here," Dennis said.

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