Sununu says Graham, Scott cost GOP with abortion, Social Security remarks

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) said Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) cost the GOP in the midterm elections with their respective comments on abortion and Social Security. 

Sununu said on “Julie Mason Mornings” on SiriusXM’s POTUS channel in an interview that aired on Friday that Graham “didn’t do anybody any favors” when he proposed a 15-week national abortion ban, nor did Scott with his comments in support of requiring Congress to renew Social Security every five years instead of it being automatically renewed. 

Sununu said Scott is a “great senator” but scared people about the future of Social Security and Medicare. 

Democrats seized on Scott’s comments and accused Republicans of planning to make major cuts to Social Security and Medicare. 

“He didn’t discuss it properly, and all of a sudden, there’s a tone out of Washington that we’re going to get rid of Social Security and Medicare, which of course is not going to happen,” Sununu said. 

Scott defended his proposal in an interview on “Meet the Press” days before the election, emphasizing that Republicans do not want to cut Social Security and Medicare. 

Sununu said Graham and Scott put unnecessary “bits of gasoline on the fire,” causing voters to want to “push back on extremism” and worry about fixing policy issues like inflation later. 

Democrats emphasized protecting abortion rights during the midterm campaign after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. The party warned Republicans would plan to ban abortion nationally if they gained control of Congress and slammed Graham’s 15-week ban proposal on the campaign trail. 

Exit polls from Tuesday showed voters still considered inflation to be the most important issue facing the country, but abortion followed closely behind in second. 

The GOP hoped to make sweeping gains in both houses of Congress to win comfortable majorities, but Democrats outperformed expectations and could hold onto the Senate. The Republican Party will likely control the House, but with a narrow margin. 

Some Republicans have blamed former President Trump for the poorer than expected performance by the GOP, with several key Trump-backed candidates losing.