House GOP campaign chief defends candidates toning down anti-abortion stance

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) on Sunday defended GOP candidates who appear to have distanced themselves from former President Trump and their stances on abortion, saying he trusts them to know their districts and voters.

Emmer, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), on “Fox News Sunday” responded to a Washington Post report that detailed nine GOP candidates who have scrubbed or changed their stances online regarding Trump or abortion. When asked if the NRCC was advising candidates to do so, Emmer said he would not “repeat the way Washington Post reports things.”

“I trust our candidates to know their districts and know how to appeal to their voters, the voters who are going to turn out in November and elect them to the next Congress,” he said. “I think our candidates know how to message that, and they’ll be just fine in the midterms.”

In one example, the Washington Post last week reported that Arizona GOP Senate candidate Blake Masters, who once described himself as “100% pro-life” with hard-line anti-abortion stances, changed his website to attack his Democratic opponent and say instead he does not support third trimester abortions.

The changes come after Republicans had two major defeats to Democrats in bellwether races in New York and Alaska last month.

Democrats appear to be seeing ground shift their way after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the nearly 50-year constitutional right to abortion and the FBI searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, with the former president under investigation for his handling of classified documents.

Emmer on Sunday disagreed Republicans were losing ground over abortion, telling anchor Mike Emanuel the NRCC trusts candidates “to know their districts and know how they’re going to appeal to their voters.”

The GOP campaign chief said Trump was a “fantastic ally” and that Republicans were in a good position to win the midterm elections and retake the House come November largely due to the direction of the economy.

“Money talks, and money is painting a pessimistic future for Democrats,” he said.

Updated 4:19 p.m.