To: Interested Parties
From: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
Date: April 5, 2024
RE: House Republicans’ Extremism Will Cost Them in States With Abortion Ballot Initiatives
Following Monday’s ruling from the Florida Supreme Court and efforts by organizers in Arizona and Nevada, seven battleground states are on track to have abortion measures on the ballot in 2024: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, and New York. This further guarantees that reproductive freedom will remain a driving issue for voters this November, putting vulnerable House Republicans and GOP candidates on the hook for their anti-abortion and anti-freedom positions. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee will ensure that House Republicans’ efforts to ban abortion nationwide are top of mind as voters head to the polls to protect their reproductive rights.
WHEN ABORTION IS ON THE BALLOT, VOTERS TURN OUT TO DEFEND THEIR RIGHTS
Since the fall of Roe v. Wade, voters have protected reproductive freedoms in seven straight state referendums. In 2022, a successful Kansas abortion referendum increased voter motivation in KS-03, where Rep. Sharice Davids beat her Republican challenger by a decisive twelve point margin – two points higher than in 2020. Last November, an abortion ballot measure in Ohio led voters to turn out in historic numbers for an off-year election and enshrine the right to reproductive care by a 14-point margin. In the three Ohio districts on the DCCC’s battlefield – OH-01, OH-09, OH-13 – Issue 1 passed by 26, 12, and 24 points respectively.
Eighteen districts on the DCCC’s offensive and defensive battleground are in states that have or will likely have an abortion ballot initiative on election day.
- AZ-01 – Rep. David Schweikert (R)
- AZ-06 – Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R)
- CO-03 – OPEN
- CO-08 – Yadira Caraveo (D)
- FL-13 – Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R)
- FL-27 – Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R)
- MT-01 – Rep. Ryan Zinke (R)
- NE-02 – Rep. Don Bacon (R)
- NV-01 – Rep. Dina Titus (D)
- NV-03 – Rep. Susie Lee (D)
- NV-04 – Rep. Steven Horsford (D)
- NY-01 – Rep. Nick LaLota (R)
- NY-03 – Rep. Tom Suozzi (D)
- NY-04 – Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R)
- NY-17 – Rep. Mike Lawler (R)
- NY-18 – Rep. Pat Ryan (D)
- NY-19 – Rep. Marc Molinaro (R)
- NY-22 – Rep. Brandon Williams (R)
VULNERABLE HOUSE REPUBLICANS CONTINUE TO PUSH A NATIONAL ABORTION BAN
Vulnerable House Republicans have attempted to skirt responsibility by claiming abortion is now a “states issue.” This empty rhetoric runs counter to their efforts to criminalize abortion care at the federal level. In the 118th Congress, House Republicans have passed four bills that would restrict access to reproductive care nationwide and introduced an additional six anti-abortion bills – including two total national abortion bans.
Additionally, seven vulnerable House Republicans in states with abortion ballot initiatives – Reps. Schweikert, Ciscomani, LaLota, Williams, Bacon, Zinke, and Luna – have signed onto the recently released Republican Study Committee budget proposal, which endorses the Life at Conception Act and over thirty other federal anti-abortion measures.
HOUSE DEMOCRATS ARE STANDING UP FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS IN EVERY STATE
Unlike Republicans, House Democrats are in line with the American people and are working to defend abortion rights amid these dangerous far-right attacks. In Congress, Rep. Yadira Caraveo (CO-08) and Rep. Susan Wild (PA-07) have both led critical legislation to expand and protect abortion access and in vitro fertilization in response to extreme GOP-led attacks on women and families nationwide. And after winning a special election centered on protecting reproductive freedom in 2022, Rep. Pat Ryan (NY-18) has prioritized introducing legislation to protect access to abortion medication nationwide. Alongside abortion ballot measures, House Democrats’ consistent efforts to strengthen reproductive freedom will further motivate voters in the most competitive seats in the country.
BOTTOM LINE
As ballot initiatives to protect abortion rights keep this issue at the forefront of voters’ minds, vulnerable Republicans will have to face the consequences for their unpopular anti-abortion, anti-freedom records. Speaker Mike Johnson made their end goal abundantly clear when he declared House Republicans “will get the number of abortions to ZERO.” Even in states where abortion isn’t on the ballot, House Republicans have tried to chip away at reproductive rights by pushing for a nationwide abortion ban and anti-abortion legislation in Congress. Their endorsements of Donald Trump and his MAGA, anti-abortion agenda are just the latest step towards achieving this goal.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee remains committed to calling out vulnerable House Republicans across the battlefield – and will continue to do so from now until Election Day.
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