Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno is facing backlash after he questioned why women over 50 care about abortion access at a campaign stop last week.
“You know, the left has a lot of single-issue voters,” Mr. Moreno, 57, said at a town hall in Warren County. “Sadly, by the way, there’s a lot of suburban women ... that are like, ‘Listen, abortion is it. If I can’t have an abortion in this country whenever I want, I will vote for anybody else.’”
“It’s a little crazy, by the way,” he continued. “But, especially for women that are like past 50, I’m thinking to myself, ‘I don’t think that’s an issue for you.’ Oh, thank God my wife didn’t hear that one.”
Schuyler Beckwith, the chairman of the Lucas County Democratic Party, said she didn’t find the comments shocking but hopes they don’t become the standard.
“My initial reaction was, ‘Man this guy is really out of touch,’” said Ms. Beckwith, 38. “But I find it very offensive coming from someone who wants to go represent Ohio women in the Senate.”
In a statement, a spokesman for Mr. Moreno’s campaign said the comment was a joke.
“Bernie was clearly making a tongue-in-cheek joke about how Sherrod Brown and members of the left-wing media like to pretend that the only issue that matters to women voters is abortion,” the statement said. “Bernie’s view is that women voters care just as much about the economy, rising prices, crime and our open southern border as male voters do, and it’s disgusting that Democrats and their friends in the left-wing media constantly treat all women as if they’re automatically single issue voters on abortion who don’t have other concerns that they vote on.”
Ms. Beckwith said being a single-issue voter on the topic of abortion shouldn’t be stereotyped as a negative thing, but there are also Democratic women who care about abortion in addition to other issues.
“Abortion and women’s health care is an economic issue, it’s a health-care issue, it’s a safety issue,” Ms. Beckwith said.
Even members of Mr. Moreno’s own party have criticized him for the comment. Nikki Haley, a former United Nations ambassador under former President Donald Trump and former GOP presidential candidate, took to the social media app X, formerly known as Twitter, to call the comment “tone deaf.”
“Are you trying to lose the election? Asking for a friend,” the post says with Mr. Moreno’s comments underneath.
Mr. Moreno is challenging U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) in what is one of the tightest nonpresidential races of the election cycle. Mr. Brown, who has been a staunch supporter of a person’s ability to have an abortion if they choose to, said accessibility goes beyond age.
“Bernie Moreno has once again shown us exactly who he is and that he thinks he knows better than the 57 percent of Ohioans who made themselves clear on this issue,” Mr. Brown, 71, said, referencing the state’s November ballot initiative that constitutionally protected one’s right to make reproductive decisions. “The people of Ohio think women should have the power to make their own health-care decisions, Bernie Moreno thinks he should.”
“As a man over the age of 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, regardless of their age,” he added. “Despite the majority of Ohioans agreeing, Moreno has made it clear he would overturn the will of Ohioans by passing a national abortion ban.”
Mr. Brown has a lengthy voting record on legislation related to reproductive health care. In 2022, Mr. Brown voted in support of the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would prohibit governmental restriction of accessibility to abortion services, and he most recently voted to protect IVF treatments from state and national bans. Both bills did not pass the Senate. He is also endorsed by Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Reproductive Freedom for All.
Mr. Moreno has been vocal on the campaign trail against access to abortion. During the primaries, Mr. Moreno said he supported a 15-week ban for abortions, and his campaign website says he supports a ban on late-term abortions. In June, a campaign spokesman told The Blade that Mr. Moreno believes abortion should be decided at the state level and that he supports exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother. He is endorsed by Ohio Right to Life and Ohio Value Voters, a conservative organization that advocates against abortion.
First Published September 24, 2024, 9:39 p.m.
