Democratic candidate hits GOP rival for saying women didn't keep 'skirt down' during abortion comments
North Carolina's closely watched race for governor heated up Tuesday, with Democratic candidate Josh Stein targeting his Republican opponent, Mark Robinson, over his stance on abortion.
One of the first ads launched by the North Carolina attorney general's gubernatorial campaign, the 30-second spot dubbed "Listen" combines past clips of Robinson talking about abortion rights.
"Abortion in this country is not about protecting the lives of mothers," Robinson, the current lieutenant governor of North Carolina, can be seen saying in a 2019 Facebook Live stream. "It's about killing the child because you weren't responsible enough to keep your skirt down."
Abortion has been a central issue in the Tar Heel State's gubernatorial contest, expected to be the country's most competitive governor race in 2024.
Tuesday's seven-figure ad buy comes as Stein's campaign has repeatedly zeroed in on Robinson's prior comments about abortion restrictions.
“It is wrong. All of it is wrong. All of it is backwards. All of it must be stopped,” Stein told a crowd in Washington, North Carolina, about Robinson's position on abortion during a campaign stop in February ahead of the state's primary elections.
The new ad also includes a clip of Robinson in 2020 telling a church congregation there is "no compromise on abortion" for him and a segment from a February 2023 radio interview in which Robinson said if governor, he would propose a bill outlawing abortion "for any reason."
Abortion in North Carolina is currently banned after 12 weeks, with limited exceptions for rape, incest or life-threatening emergencies. State legislators lowered the limit from 20 weeks last summer, relying on the GOP supermajority in both chambers to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto attempts.
Mike Lonergan, communications director for Robinson's campaign, called the ad "deceptively edited."
"Once again, he (Stein) is twisting words to falsely smear his opponent because he has no real plan to offer the voters," Lonergan said in a statement to press.
Lonergan pointed out that Robinson continued in the radio interview last year to say, "Would that stop abortions? No sir," referring to a total ban bill.
"People would get in their cars, they’d go to Georgia, they’d go to South Carolina, and they’d go to Virginia, they’d go wherever they could. Order pills online and have abortions," Robinson said at the time.
Robinson has largely softened his public comments on abortion during his current campaign.
His campaign previously told USA TODAY that as governor, Robinson would support limiting abortion to once a heartbeat is detected, "with protections for extreme situations such as rape, incest or when the life of the mother is in danger."
Stein's campaign this week also rolled out a second ad highlighting his work as attorney general addressing the state's backlog of rape kits.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NC Democratic candidate hits Republican rival over abortion comments