Moreno's abortion comment rattles debate in expensive Senate race in Republican-leaning Ohio [View all]

[In It to Win It]

Moreno's abortion comment rattles debate in expensive Senate race in Republican-leaning Ohio

An off-the-cuff comment about reproductive rights by Republican Bernie Moreno in Ohio’s tight Senate race has put abortion at the center of debate in the most expensive Senate campaign this year. And that’s just where Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown wanted it.

Moreno insists he was joking after cellphone video surfaced of him criticizing women whose votes are driven by concerns about government involvement in abortion decisions.

“Sadly, by the way, there’s a lot of suburban women, a lot of suburban women that are like, ‘Listen, abortion is it,’” Moreno said at a town hall in Warren County on Sept. 20. ”‘If I can’t have an abortion in this country whenever I want, I will vote for anybody else.’ OK. It’s a little crazy, by the way, but — especially for women who are like past 50, I’m thinking to myself, ‘I don’t think that’s an issue for you.’”

Brown and his allies pounced on the comment, which went to the heart of the Democrat's bid for a fourth term representing the Republican-leaning state. A woman featured in one TV ad wondered why, if a 50-year-old woman doesn't have standing to feel strongly about abortion, a 57-year-old man — that's Moreno's age — running for Senate would.

Even fellow Republican Nikki Haley, the former presidential candidate, criticized Moreno as #ToneDeaf. "Are you trying to lose the election? Asking for a friend,” she quipped on X.