Voters from the Democratic and Republican parties told The Epoch Times a presidential candidate’s view on abortion will play a central role in who they vote for in 2024.
“I think every state should have the ‘Florida standard,’” Virginia resident and Republican voter Mimi Rodgers told The Epoch Times. “Six weeks until any woman should be able to decide if an abortion is the right thing for her and the unborn soul inside of her.”
Democratic voters take the opposite approach.
“Number one, we need to codify Roe v. Wade in Congress since the Trumpers on the Supreme Court stole it from us,” Rachel Rodriguez of Pennsylvania told The Epoch Times. “And number two, we need exceptions, how can you tell a woman who is raped she has to have her attacker’s baby?”
The debate has become more heated, particularly inside of the GOP after former President Donald Trump commented on abortion during an interview with NBC where he accused members of his own party of “speaking very inarticulately on the subject,” and said they need to stop pushing bans on abortions without exceptions (in cases of rape, incest and the health of the mother).
“I watch some of them without the exceptions, et cetera, et cetera,” President Trump said. “I said, ‘Other than certain parts of the country, you can’t—you’re not going to win on this issue. But you will win on this issue when you come up with the right number of weeks.”
Political analyst Jared Leopold told The Epoch Times, that President Trump’s “waffling” on the issue of abortion is opening up for attacks from the left and the right.
Trump in Iowa
President Trump is due to speak at an event in Dubuque Iowa on Wednesday, a state that has imposed a six-week abortion ban. He has already faced some pointed backlash for his comments on abortion, specifically those against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who President Trump said made a “terrible mistake” by signing the state’s six-week abortion ban into law and that he could’ve created a better option by working with Democrats and Republicans.“It’s never a ‘terrible thing’ to protect innocent life. I’m proud of the fetal heartbeat bill the Iowa legislature passed and I signed in 2018 and again earlier this year,” Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (R) posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The DeSantis campaign was also quick to jump on President Trump’s comments, sending out a press advisory with various statements from conservative leaders in the Hawkeye state who were critical of the president’s remarks.
“Trump’s comments are a slap in the face to Iowans and the entire pro-life movement. We should never compromise with Democrats on protecting life. Trump should be prepared to hear from Iowans on his awful comments for the rest of the campaign.” said Iowa House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl in the advisory.
The former president has since clarified his comments over Truth Social in a post stating:
“I was able to do something that nobody thought was possible, end Roe v. Wade. For 52 years, people talked, spent vast amounts of money, but couldn’t get the job done. I got the job done! Thanks to the three great Supreme Court Justices I appointed, this issue has been returned to the States, where all Legal Scholars, on both sides, felt it should be.”
Iowa remains an important proving ground for Republicans vying for the presidency as it will hold its first-in-the-nation-caucuses for the GOP on Jan. 15, 2024. President Trump has not visited the state as frequently as other Republican presidential candidates have thus far, and Republican strategist Brian Seitchik told The Epoch Times that could be because President Trump already feels he has the nomination tied up.
“President Trump is trying to have his cake and eat it too. He proudly touts putting three conservative Supreme Court, Justices on the court which led to the Dobbs decision and the obvious change in the abortion laws around the country,” Seitchik said. “At the same time, it sure seems like he’s looking beyond the primary and already in general election mode where he knows that the abortion issue could be a potential problem for college-educated suburban women.”
Next Big Battleground for Abortion: Virginia
In Virginia—where all state House and Senate seats are up for election and early voting begins Friday—one of the biggest fights has unfolded this year over abortion.The commonwealth’s odd-year elections are often an indicator of the national mood heading into major election years and offer both parties a chance to test campaign strategies, messaging, and policy ahead of 2024 contests for president, Congress, and other offices.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R)—whose push to ban the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy was blocked by the Democratic-controlled Senate—has pledged to try again if the GOP wins full control in the state.
Democrats are banking on the abortion issue to lead them to a win, just as it was in the 2022 midterms and earlier contests this year.
“While Trump and his fellow Republicans point fingers at each other, the reality is voters know they are the party of ripping away freedoms and restricting a woman’s right to make their own private medical decisions,” Democratic Governors Association (DGA) Deputy Communications Director Sam Newton told The Epoch Times. “[This includes] extremist bans that outlaw exceptions for cases of rape and incest.”
And even Republican political consultants like Seitchik say this could be a winning issue on the state-wide level.
“Democrats have been trying to use this issue for decades and it has not been successful until the Dobbs decision … Republicans were much more motivated on the abortion issue. The Democrats for decades have been saying if Republicans get control, they’re going to take abortion away and it frankly very much fell, on deaf ears,” he said. “The advantage was to Republicans. I think we’ve seen some change in that since the Dobbs decision. And that’s cost Republicans some support among those college-educated suburban voters and in many ways has activated uh young voters who are sensitive about abortion.”
