Senate Democrats lean on abortion rights as closing argument
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democrats are focused on the key issue down the stretch. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Senate Democrats are resting their long-shot hopes of keeping a majority on abortion rights, with the issue dominating their closing arguments two weeks from Election Day.
Why it matters: Democrats are blaming deeply unpopular abortion bans in Texas and Florida on the senators they need to defeat next month: Ted Cruz and Rick Scott.
- Democrats in blue or toss-up states are counting on abortion rights to get them across the finish line, hammering TV and social media with ads about reproductive rights.
The big picture: With Montana looking increasingly out of reach for Democrats, Cruz and Scott are the party's main targets to flip a red seat and keep a Senate majority.
- Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), challenging Cruz, is closing his campaign with ads featuring a woman who had to leave Texas to get emergency reproductive care and arguing that Cruz is "leading the charge" on abortion restrictions.
- Allred will campaign with Vice President Kamala Harris in Texas on Friday, a surprise move by both campaigns down the stretch. The event will focus on abortion.
- Former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Fla.), challenging Scott, is running multiple TV ads hammering him on reproductive rights, saying Scott "wrote the plan" to ban abortion.
Zoom out: The Democrats' two most vulnerable members — Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) — are spending millions on ads supporting abortion rights down the stretch.
- A pro-Tester Super PAC is spending nearly $2 million on abortion ads in the state from now through Election Day, according to data from AdImpact.
- Brown's campaign and the campaign arm of Senate Democrats are spending around $5 million on ads about reproductive rights, according to AdImpact.
- Tester's race could be the tipping point in the Senate, with Republicans only needing to defeat him and protect Cruz and Scott to take over the majority.
What they're saying: A Scott spokesman, Will Hampson, told Axios, "Florida is not going to elect a socialist and Rick Scott is going to win in two weeks."
- Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson Tommy Garcia told Axios that "Republican Senate candidates' well-documented support for abortion bans and their callous disregard for women's reproductive freedom is dominating the closing days of the Senate races and will lead voters to reject them."
- The Cruz campaign did not immediately offer a comment.
