RNC chair: Republicans can’t ignore abortion on campaign trail

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said on Sunday that Republicans need to address questions about abortion policy “head on” on the campaign trail, adding that the issue played a big role in the party’s disappointing 2022 midterm performance.

“Abortion was a big issue in key states like Michigan and Pennsylvania,” McDaniel said on “Fox News Sunday.” “The guidance we’re going to give to our candidates is, you have to address this head on… many of our candidates across the board refused to talk about it.”

Abortion access became one of the most important issues on the campaign trail for voters in 2022, after the historical fall of Roe v. Wade, which stripped federal protections for the procedure. A string of Republican-led states then moved quickly to place bans and restrictions on abortions.

McDaniel said Republicans in 2022, who won a slight House majority but failed to win a Senate majority and lost a number of key gubernatorial races, thought they could “just talk about the economy and ignore this big issue. They can’t.”

McDaniel advised Republicans instead to go on the offensive against Democratic positions on abortion.

“They can’t even articulate an abortion that’s a bad idea,” McDaniel said, speaking about Democrats. “Put them on the defensive and articulate where you stand, and that’s gonna be the critical message we have to get out before 2024.”

McDaniel, who led the RNC through to 2020 and 2022 elections, was heavily criticized for the poor GOP performance last fall. But she easily won another term at the helm of the party, fighting back a challenge to her leadership earlier this year.