Republican Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno was hit with backlash after he was caught on tape asking why "suburban women" and women "past 50" support abortion rights.
Speaking at a Warren County town hall on Friday, Moreno, who is challenging the seat held by Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, said:
“You know, the left has a lot of single-issue voters. Sadly, by the way, there’s a lot of suburban women, a lot of suburban women that are like, ‘Listen, abortion is it. If I can’t have an abortion in this country whenever I want, I will vote for anybody else.’”
“It’s a little crazy, by the way, but ― especially for women that are like past 50. I’m thinking to myself, ‘I don’t think that’s an issue for you.'"
Moreno's remarks quickly caught Brown's attention and he shared the footage on X, formerly Twitter, with the caption:
Bernie Moreno thinks it’s "crazy" that women want to make their own healthcare decisions.
You can see the video of Moreno's remarks below:
In a Pew Research survey conducted earlier this month, about two-thirds of voters supporting Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, cited abortion rights as “very important” to their vote. In contrast, just over one-third of those backing former President Donald Trump indicated the same.
But Moreno's campaign claimed Moreno was only joking in a statement to WCMH-TV, clarifying that they were aimed at Brown and “members of the left-wing media” who, according to the campaign, “pretend that the only issue that matters to women voters is abortion.”
The campaign added:
“Bernie’s view is that women voters care just as much about the economy, rising prices, crime and our open southern border as male voters do, and it’s disgusting that Democrats and their friends in the left-wing media constantly treat all women as if they’re automatically single issue voters on abortion who don’t have other concerns that they vote on."
But the damage was done—and Moreno was swiftly called out.
The race between Brown and Moreno has become the most expensive of this election cycle, according to AdImpact data, driven by a fierce battle for Senate control.
By August 7, spending on the Ohio race had already exceeded $310 million. While Democrats maintain a fundraising advantage over Republicans in nine competitive Senate races, Ohio stands out as the only contest where Republicans are outspending their opponents.
Republicans are focused on unseating popular Democratic senators in Ohio and Montana, both states won decisively by Trump in 2016 and 2020.
@jaketapoer/Bluesky
@BillAckman/Twitter