Former State Sen. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte) joined supporters in Howell on Election Night for
| Republicans will maintain control of the House of Representatives, solidifying the GOP’s power in the White House and both chambers of Congress. Abortion rights were a focal point for the Democratic Party, with many candidates vying for congressional seats saying they would vote to restore the federal right to abortion if elected.
Most Republican candidates who won their races said the issue should be left to the states, echoing President-elect Donald Trump’s rhetoric. Trump has said he would not sign a federal abortion ban if such legislation lands on his desk. The GOP gained control of the Senate, and it became clear last week that the party maintained a majority in the House, our D.C. Bureau reported. Republicans flipped several seats, including two in Pennsylvania and one each in Colorado and Michigan. Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican with a history of anti-abortion positions, said Tuesday that the party has been working behind the scenes to plan an “America first agenda.” So far, abortion policy has not been mentioned in detail. Democrats running on abortion rights did pick up some lower chamber seats: one in California, one in Oregon and three in New York, for example. But even in states where voters backed abortion-rights measures — Arizona and Colorado, to name a couple — Republican congressional candidates still bested their opponents. Here’s a glance at how Democrats and Republicans fared in some races where reproductive rights were key: GOP flips and holds seats in states where abortion was on the ballot, directly and otherwiseColorado More than 60% of Colorado voters approved a abortion-rights measure that will strike down a decades-old ban on the use of public funds for abortion. At the same time, residents in Congressional District 8 voted to unseat U.S. Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo, who supports abortion rights. Republican Representative-elect Gabe Evans won at least 49% of the vote to Caraveo’s 48%, according to Colorado Newsline. Crime and immigration appear to have been a major factor in the competitive race. In an October debate, Evans said he supports abortion in the cases of rape, incest and to save the life of the mother, and opposes a national ban. Michigan Abortion wasn’t directly on the ballot in Michigan this year, unlike during the 2022 midterms. Former state GOP Sen. Tom Barrett defeated former state Democratic Sen. Curtis Hertel in a bid to represent the 7th Congressional District, Michigan Advance reported. Hertel released an ad in September featuring a woman sharing her abortion story after having an ectopic pregnancy and painting Barrett as “too extreme for Michigan.” Barrett opposes abortion rights and sponsored anti-abortion bills in the state Senate. His campaign strategist told the Advance that he would be focused on preserving the Hyde Amendment, a provision that prevents the use of federal funds for abortion in most cases, and protecting funding for anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers. Barrett told the Detroit Free Press that Congress has a role in securing conscience protections for doctors who don’t want to provide abortions — statutes like this already exist — and in making it illegal for minors to travel across state lines for abortions without parental consent. Idaho and Tennessee have made the latter a crime, though both laws were blocked by the courts. Nebraska A ballot measure set to ban most abortions after the first trimester succeeded in Nebraska, while one that would have allowed abortion up to fetal viability with exceptions for the health and the life of the mother failed. The issue factored into the race for Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, where U.S. Republican Rep. Don Bacon emerged victorious against state Sen. Tony Vargas, a Democrat who backed the abortion-rights measure. Nebraska Examiner reported that Vargas stressed abortion rights and reproductive health, and Bacon softened his stance on the issue while campaigning. The incumbent, who supports exceptions for rape, incest or to save the mother’s life, has cosponsored legislation that would give fetuses personhood rights. Wisconsin Republican businessman Tony Wied won his race against Democrat OB-GYN Kristin Lyerly for Wisconsin’s conservative 8th Congressional District. Former U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher resigned from Congress this spring, opening the office up, Wisconsin Examiner reported. Wied garnered 57% of the votes to Lyerly’s 43%, according to the latest AP tally. Lyerly emphasized her background in obstetrics care and advocacy for reproductive rights throughout her campaign. Wied has said he supports the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and that abortion policy should be decided by state lawmakers, Examiner reported. Dems running on abortion rights flipped a few districts, won an open seatCalifornia Democrat George Whitesides defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Garcia in California’s 27th Congressional District, an area that includes Santa Clarita. The Associated Press called the race on Tuesday. Whitesides painted Garcia’s opposition to abortion rights as extreme, according to the AP. Whitesides told CalMatters he would back a federal law codifying abortion rights, while Garcia said he wouldn’t support a federal ban. California Democrats emphasized abortion while campaigning, hoping the issue would help them win back the House.  Michigan Most voters in the state elected Donald Trump to the White House, and Republicans flipped control of the Michigan House, ending the Democratic Party’s trifecta. But U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, a Grand Rapids Democrat, won reelection with 54% of votes to Republican Paul Hudson’s 44%. Scholten was first elected to Congress in 2022, when the majority of Michigan voters approved a reproductive rights amendment. Last month, she told Michigan Advance that abortion was “easily in the top one or two issues that I hear about from voters.” Hudson downplayed the issue while campaigning but said he supports IVF and didn’t back a national ban. Minnesota U.S. Representative-elect Kelly Morrison, an OB-GYN, won Minnesota’s only open seat in Congress. She will represent the state’s 3rd Congressional District, Minnesota Reformer reported. Tad Jude, her GOP opponent, once called every abortion a tragedy. Morrison is set to be the only OB-GYN elected to Congress who supports abortion rights, according to NBC News. Oregon U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a Republican who has waffled on her abortion stance while in office, lost reelection to Democrat Janelle Bynum, Oregon Capital Chronicle reported. On Thursday morning, AP called the race for Bynum, who will be the first Black Oregonian elected to Congress. Bynum and Chavez-DeRemer sparred over abortion during an October debate. “I’m never pro-choice enough for the left,” Chavez-DeRemer said last month. “I’m never pro-life enough for the right.” |
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