Democrats irked over 'pro-choice' GOP candidates

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Dems irked as GOP rivals tout ‘pro-choice’ positions

A handful of Republican candidates running for competitive Democrat-leaning congressional seats have adopted “pro-choice” stances, as they try to separate themselves from the GOP’s hardline anti-abortion history.

Democrats are accusing the Republicans of deceiving voters and redefining what the term means.

Abortion has become political poison for the Republican Party ever since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. GOP vice-presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (Ohio) said as much in his debate against Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) this week.

“My party, we've got to do so much better of a job at earning the American People's trust back on [abortion] where they frankly just don't trust us,” Vance said, sticking to the Trump campaign’s state’s rights approach.

The GOP candidates who say they’re pro-choice:

In California, Republican Matt Gunderson who’s challenging Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) announced last month, “I am pro-choice. I believe abortion should be safe, legal, and rare.”
Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.) also said last month that he was pro-choice and went as far as to say he believed former President Trump is “functionally pro-choice.”
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, the Republican nominee for Senate in the state, also called himself pro-choice shortly after he won the primary.

Their Democratic opponents, however, are less than convinced.

Levin told The Hill that his opponent is “trying to deceive people” by labeling himself “pro-choice.”

“I don’t really think you can be pro-choice if you believe states should have the right to ban all abortions. Those two things are just not consistent,” said Levin.

Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, running against Hogan in Maryland, has argued the former governor’s party affiliation works against him, telling the The Associated Press, “There will never be a vote as to whether or not we should codify Roe in federal law if the Republicans are in the majority.”

Read more from The Hill’s Emily Brooks here. .

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