COLUMBUS, OH – Last week, Ohioans voted resoundingly to protect abortion access and overturn the state’s current restrictive ban. While Sherrod stands with the majority of Ohioans who believe women’s health care decisions should be between women and their doctors, all of his opponents have said they would overrule Ohioans by voting for a national abortion ban.
Cleveland.com: “Those votes were good news for Brown. They foreshadow the case Democrats can make for the three-term senator next year as the bulwark against GOP efforts to impose some kind of national abortion ban…Brown’s position on abortion stands in stark contrast to that of the three Republicans running in the March primary election for a chance to replace him. All three of Brown’s potential Republican opponents have expressed support for national abortion restrictions in some form or another, and all three personally oppose abortion.”
Daily Beast: “But it’s now clear that Democrats have a unique and powerful political edge in Ohio that will ensure they are competitive: abortion rights—and Ohio Republicans’ determination to restrict them no matter how clearly the state’s voters tell them not to.”
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Cleveland.com: Ohio voters approved sweeping abortion protections. What does that mean for Sen. Sherrod Brown next year?
Andrew Tobias
November 14, 2023
- Last Tuesday, voters approved state Issue 1, which adds sweeping legal protections for abortion to the state constitution, with 57% of the vote. The vote means that for the second time, a strong majority of Ohioans said abortion should be legal, a sharp rebuke of Ohio Republicans’ longstanding moves to heavily restrict the procedure.
- Those votes were good news for Brown. They foreshadow the case Democrats can make for the three-term senator next year as the bulwark against GOP efforts to impose some kind of national abortion ban.
- The August and November elections also proved that Ohioans will turn out to vote on abortion. Both elections defied normal off-year turnout trends. And Brown’s position on abortion stands in stark contrast to that of the three Republicans running in the March primary election for a chance to replace him.
- All three of Brown’s potential Republican opponents have expressed support for national abortion restrictions in some form or another, and all three personally oppose abortion.
- “People understand that a national abortion ban takes their rights away essentially, maybe forever,” Brown said. “And that’s why people worked so hard leading into last night and fought on these issues.”
- Brown’s campaign also has signaled clear plans to highlight his Republican opponents’ views on abortion next year. Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno have called for national legislation banning abortion at 15 weeks, although LaRose has suggested he might support a ban earlier in pregnancy. State Sen. Matt Dolan has said he… might consider federal legislation if enough states pass Issue 1-type measures.
- Even removing Ohio’s three largest, heavily Democratic counties – Cuyahoga, Franklin and Hamilton counties – Issue 1 still would have passed with nearly 51% of the vote.
- “I think Issue 1 does demonstrate that when a progressive has the resources and the infrastructure to run a strong campaign in Ohio, they can win,” McGovern said. “Sherrod Brown’s absolutely going to have both next year.”
Daily Beast: GOP Gifts Dems a ‘Silver Bullet’ Issue in Trump Country
Sam Brodey
November 15, 2023
- But it’s now clear that Democrats have a unique and powerful political edge in Ohio that will ensure they are competitive: abortion rights—and Ohio Republicans’ determination to restrict them no matter how clearly the state’s voters tell them not to.
- Despite the fact that the state GOP establishment campaigned heavily against Issue One, the right to an abortion won majority support from voters in 18 counties that went for Donald Trump in 2020.
- “The national debate will be about a national abortion ban, but the fact that we just had this decisive election here—and that the Republicans are trying to get around it all of a sudden—makes it front and center in the 2024 cycle,” said David Pepper, the chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party from 2015 to 2020.
- “Ohio Democrats have found their silver bullet to run 10 points ahead of Joe Biden in the Ohio suburbs,” the operative continued. “Their silver bullet is Republicans being dumb enough to nominate undisciplined, gaffe-prone abortion extremists who will spend the general election on the defensive. It gives Sherrod Brown a fighting chance.”
- [Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan] opposed Issue One and campaigned against it. Of the group, Moreno has been the clearest in his support for a national 15-week abortion ban with some exceptions, though in the 2022 primary he opposed any exceptions for rape or incest. Dolan…he has not totally ruled out a federal-level restriction. LaRose has supported a national ban…and in Ohio, he is closely associated with efforts to thwart Issue One through his role as the official responsible for running state elections.
- In a statement to The Daily Beast, Brown campaign manager Rachel Petri said that the three GOP candidates “have made it clear they would ignore Ohioans and overrule them by voting for a national abortion ban.”
- “Sherrod has always fought to protect women’s reproductive rights and Ohioans know how out-of-step his opponents are with the widely held belief that these are personal decisions that should be between women and their doctors,” Petri said.
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