Senate Democrats launch website targeting GOP on abortion ahead of Roe v. Wade anniversary

The Senate Democrats’ campaign arm launched a website Friday targeting Republicans in battleground states on their past comments on abortion ahead of the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s (DSCC) website, called goponabortion.com and first shared with The Hill, highlights past comments made by Senate candidates in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.

The DSCC website features excerpts of remarks from Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who both face reelection next year, in addition to a number of Republicans who have declared their candidacies for the Senate or are expected to run.

This group includes Kari Lake in Arizona; former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), former Rep. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.) and James Craig in Michigan; Tim Sheehy and Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) in Montana; Sam Brown in Nevada; Bernie Moreno, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) and state Sen. Matt Dolan (R) in Ohio; Dave McCormick in Pennsylvania; and Eric Hovde in Wisconsin. 

The DSCC website also includes some of their remarks in a video compilation.

The DSCC website, for example, notes Lake’s past comments calling abortion “murder” during a 2021 conversation. The website noted that the former local news anchor said in 2022 that abortion “is not health care. It is the killing, it is the sacrifice, it is the execution of a baby.”  

Lake’s campaign website says that she does not support a federal abortion ban. Lake told The Hill in an interview last November that she supports “all 50 states” coming up “with their own laws on abortion.” 

“I want to make sure that women, when they find themselves pregnant, aren’t afraid and think that’s the only choice they have,” she told The Hill. “Regardless of how many weeks is the law, regardless of all of that, I want to make sure that women have — know there are choices out there.” 

The Arizona Senate race is expected to be one of the most important fights for control of the Senate majority in the fall. Lake is expected to face Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.) and possibly an independent candidate in Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who has yet to say whether she will run for reelection.

Democrats have just a one-seat majority in the Senate and face a difficult map, as they defend a number of seats in states that have gone red in recent presidential elections.

Abortion has proved to be a motivating issue with Democratic votes, repeatedly driving their base to the polls. With President Biden’s approval numbers under water and the difficult Senate map, it’s a crucial issue for the party to keep hold of the Senate majority.

“On record and on video, Republican Senate candidates have made it clear they stand in lockstep with their party’s agenda to ban abortion nationwide and without exceptions,” DSCC spokesperson Katarina Flicker said in a statement. 

“This website will help voters learn how Republican Senate candidates oppose women’s right to make our own health care decisions – and why their agenda opposing women’s freedom to make these deeply personal choices for themselves will lead their campaigns to defeat in 2024,” Flicker added.