Republican senators facing tough reelection bids embrace Donald Trump's abortion position

WASHINGTON – Republicans facing tough reelection campaigns this fall are welcoming former President Donald Trump's newly announced position that abortion regulations should be left up to the states, even as some of their less vulnerable peers openly contradict him.

The situation reflects sharp divides among Republicans as they struggle with addressing abortion in the first presidential election cycle since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

The decision created a patchwork of rules and catapulted reproductive rights to the top of the issues Democrats are campaigning on in 2024. It's a playbook they've already used: Democratic candidates notched wins across the country in the 2022 midterms by talking to voters about reproductive rights.

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But as Democrats lean into abortion debates and Republicans split on the issue, fuel was added to the fire on Tuesday. The Arizona Supreme Court upheld a near-total 160-year-old abortion ban without exceptions for cases of rape or incest. Liberal advocates in that state say they have enough signatures to put a measure to protect abortion rights before voters in the fall.

GOP whip John Thune, R-S.D., said Arizona is an example of how abortion restrictions are "going to be litigated all over the country" in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision, "which essentially said that states and its leaders and the voters in those states are going to be principally in charge of making decisions about what kind of policies they're going to have."

Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rick Scott, R-Fla., are the only two incumbent GOP senators that Democrats have a workable chance at unseating in the general election this fall. Both told USA TODAY they agree that abortion rules should be decided by voters in their states.

Scott said he supports access to contraception and in-vitro fertilization. But "we've got to have some reasonable limitations" on abortion as determined by states, he said, adding that he was "glad" to hear the former president's position.

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., is the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, a group that works to get Republicans elected to the upper chamber. He said Tuesday that it is "absolutely false" that Republicans want a federal abortion ban and are instead focused on preventing abortions later in pregnancy.

However, he and several other Republican senators sponsored legislation to implement a 15-week abortion ban after Roe was overturned, and it's a goal many GOP lawmakers have embraced.

Additionally, Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said Trump's stance is a good model – "a safe place" – for other GOP candidates in vulnerable districts and seats.

"One of my mottos these days is: Swing voters in swing states," he said. "You can't ignore the pragmatic. You have to see the world the way it is, not the way you wish it was."

More than 70% of Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to recent polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Washington Post.

But senators weren't the only GOP candidates who backed up Trump's Monday announcement.

Republican candidates challenging Democratic incumbents also jumped to announce a position on abortion that aligns with the former president's. Arizona GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake said on X: "I agree with President Trump: I do NOT support a federal abortion ban, policy should be up to individual states."

Republican Senate candidates Mike Rogers of Michigan, Bernie Moreno of Ohio and David McCormick of Pennsylvania also reportedly staked out similar positions, though both Moreno and Rogers have previously indicated support for some federal restrictions.

Meanwhile, some prominent Republicans panned Trump's abortion platform. Former Vice President Mike Pence called his position "a slap in the face." Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. – typically a Trump ally – said he "respectfully" disagrees with the former president and that he told Trump that "the pro-life movement... is not about geography, it's about the child."

On Monday, Trump hit back at the Republicans who criticized his position, touting his role appointing Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade and saying leaving abortion to the states makes Republicans "free to run for office based on the horrible border, inflation, bad economy, and the death and destruction of our country."

However, some GOP senators made clear they wouldn't be wading into the political morass.

Asked whether he's concerned about voter backlash over abortion in the wake of the Arizona Supreme Court decision, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said simply: "I'm sure, as you are, that this whole issue will continue to unfold during the course of the campaign."

When asked whether he agrees with Trump that the issue should be left up to the states, McConnell walked away without a word.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Vulnerable GOP senators embrace Donald Trump's abortion position