Scoop: GOP campaign arm's birth control message
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NRSC Chairman Steven Daines (R-MT) speaks to members of the press on May 21 in Washington. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The National Republican Senatorial Committee directed candidates Tuesday to clearly outline their support for policies that increase access to birth control, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The marching order from the Senate Republicans' campaign arm is meant to defuse a Senate Democratic offensive aimed at forcing Republicans to take politically challenging votes on reproductive rights.
- The Senate on Wednesday will vote on the Right to Contraception Act, part of a push Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has timed ahead of the second anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade
- The memo from the NRSC, obtained by Axios, tells its candidates to highlight their support for a bill introduced by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) that aims to increase the availability of birth control options.
The big picture: The NRSC said none of its candidates back new restrictions on contraception.
- "Democrats are trying to make this a campaign issue and scare voters because they can't talk about their failed policies on every other issue," the memo said.
- The NRSC told candidates their key messages should be expressing support for access to birth control, "expose the Democrats' lies on this issue" and "provide a clear contrast."
Between the lines: The pivot to talking about Ernst's bill provides Republicans an alternative to point to when confronted with questions about what they would do at the federal level to protect access to contraception.
- Republicans have largely focused on the border and the economy as their main campaign issues this year.
Zoom out: Polls indicate that the June 2022 ruling overturning Roe contributed to Democrats' better-than-expected performance in that year's midterms.
- Democrats hope to build on that success in November, when GOP candidates will also have to contend with a number of state-level ballot initiatives aimed at protecting abortion rights.
- Strict state laws in places like Arizona and Florida have put Republicans in a tough position as well.
The other side: Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson Tommy Garcia told Axios that Republican candidates have "spent years attacking women's reproductive freedom."
- "Unless the NRSC's memo comes with a time machine, GOP Senate candidates will find this press release offers little protection from voters' accountability," Garcia said.
