Abortion will be key topic in Ohio's November election
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Republican Bernie Moreno says he supports a federal 15-week abortion ban. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Abortion will be a key topic in the presidential election and crucial statewide races, including the one between Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and Republican opponent Bernie Moreno.
Why it matters: Democrats hold a slim majority in the U.S. Senate, but Republicans are eyeing several vulnerable incumbents, including Brown, for seats they could flip.
What they're saying: "The race between Brown and Moreno is going to be a tight one, I can imagine," Robert Alexander, professor of political science at Ohio Northern University, tells Axios.
- "A major issue like abortion could swing it one way."
Flashback: Last August, Ohio voters rejected Issue 1, which anti-abortion rights advocates hoped would make it tougher to pass an abortion rights amendment in the state constitution.
- Then, last November, voters adopted an amendment guaranteeing a person's right to an abortion and other reproductive care up until fetal viability.
The intrigue: Following Moreno's victory in the Republican Senate primary last month, Ohio Democrats released statements and ads calling a vote for Moreno "a vote for a national abortion ban," while asserting he's donated "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to anti-abortion rights causes.
- Moreno contributed $100,000 last summer to one such group, Protect Women Ohio Fund.
Meanwhile, Brown has touted his record of supporting abortion access.
- "I know where my opponents stand, too. [They] would overturn the will of Ohioans by voting for a national abortion ban."
The other side: Moreno has said he would vote for a national abortion ban of 15 weeks with "commonsense restrictions that again eliminate late-term abortions."
- Following his victory, Moreno took aim at Brown, saying, "We have an opportunity now to retire the old commie ... and to save this country."
Reality check: Even though conservatives have advocated for a national abortion ban, former President Trump — the presumptive GOP presidential nominee — has said he thinks the issue should be left to the states to decide.
The big picture: Abortion remains a hot topic nationwide after the Arizona Supreme Court ruled last week to uphold a 160-year-old law that bans nearly all abortions in the state.
- Abortion measures will be on November ballots in Florida, Maryland and New York, and could also appear on the ballots in several other states, including Arizona.
State of play: An East Carolina University survey of 1,298 Ohio voters last month showed Brown ahead of Moreno, 45% to 41%, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2%.
The bottom line: "The Democrats have to thread a pretty tight needle in order to get control of the legislature, and Brown's seat is a critical piece of that," says Alexander.