Republican General Assembly candidates don’t always stress their abortion stands when wooing swing voters, but Gov. Glenn Youngkin‘s political action committee is spending big money to do just that.
In its bid to flip the Democratic-led state Senate and widen the GOP majority in the House of Delegates, Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia PAC is launching a $1.4 million statewide ad campaign to lean into an issue that Democrats have been campaigning fiercely on.
It’s an effort to directly counter a central campaign message from Democratic candidates, the PAC says.
The ad accuses Democrats of falsely claiming GOP control of both House and Senate would clear the way for an outright ban on abortions. It also asserts that Democrats don’t want any limits on abortion, although Democrats say that misrepresents their position that Virginia’s current law should stand.
On the campaign trail, Republican candidates at times downplay the abortion issue, saying voters aren’t telling them that abortion is a major issue in the campaign.
Democrats say it is the top issue they hear about, with fears that Youngkin’s proposal to bar most abortions after 15 weeks is stalking horse for an outright ban or the still tighter limits some other states have enacted.
“I have been really clear — I am supportive of a bill to protect life at 15 weeks when a baby can feel pain, with exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother. Fifteen weeks. That’s where we are,” Youngkin said.
Read the full story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
