Ohio Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno has come under fire for his comments about suburban women and abortion.
Moreno said at a town hall in Warren County on Friday that many “suburban women” are “one-issue voters” when it comes to abortion. He also said it was “a bit crazy” that some women over 50 are interested in access to abortion.
“You know, the left has a lot of voters,” Moreno said. “Unfortunately, by the way, there are a lot of suburban women, a lot of suburban women who say, ‘Listen, this is what abortion is. “If I can’t have an abortion in this country whenever I want, I will vote for someone else.” … OK. It’s a little crazy, by the way, but – especially for women over 50 – I think to myself, “I don’t think this is a problem for you.”
NBC affiliate WCMH He was the first to report Columbus’s comments and obtain their video.
Moreno’s spokesman described the remarks as “a tongue-in-cheek joke” about his Democratic opponent, Sen. Sherrod Brown, and the media.
Reagan McCarthy said in a statement that “Bernie Sherrod Brown and members of the left-wing media like to pretend that the only issue that matters to women voters is abortion.”
“The people of Ohio believe that women should have the power to make their own health care decisions, and Bernie Moreno should,” Brown, who faces a tough re-election fight, responded in a statement.
“As a man over 50, I care deeply about a woman’s right to make health care decisions for herself — for my daughters, my granddaughters and all Ohio women of all ages,” he said.
Brown, who was first elected in 2006 one of the most sensitive Senate Democrats are up for re-election this year. The seat is considered a prime target for Republicans those trying to regain control of the Senate. Non-partisan Cook Political Report assessed the competition as “throwing away”. Donald Trump won the state in 2016 and 2020.
Even some Republicans joined the chorus of Democrats criticizing Moreno.
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley He wrote in X: “Are you trying to lose the election? Wanting a friend. #Tonedeaf #DonLemonVibes.”
Maura Gillespie, R-Ohio, an aide to former House Speaker John Boehner, called the comment “stupid.”
“I feel like I’ve broken a record, but a woman’s value does not depend on her womb. And on abortion, it’s like talking about only one thing – it’s women’s health,” CNN said.
“I think the Republicans are going to continue to lose on this issue if they undermine women,” she said.
Gillespie said comments like Moreno’s alienate the voter base needed to win Ohio. He pointed to Ohio’s November ballot initiative protecting abortion and reproductive rights.
Roe v. In the two years since Wade’s overturn, abortion has become a hot-button issue in Ohio and across the country. Ohio voters passed the ballot measure in November establishing the right to abortion care in the state constitution. The ballot protects access to abortion passed in several states It will be on the ballot since the decision of the Supreme Court again on November 10.