In September, Bernie Moreno, the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate in Ohio, made a series of equal-parts bizarre and insulting comments about the role of abortion rights this election cycle. “You know, the left has a lot of single issue voters. Sadly, by the way, there’s 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,’” the Ohio businessman, who’s running to unseat Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown, said at a campaign event. “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.’”
On Wednesday, over 1,200 Ohio women of all ages and political affiliations responded with an open letter to Moreno, pointing to his “insult[ing],” “mocking” comments and determining he’s “unfit” to represent them.
“As Ohio women across the political spectrum, we don’t agree on everything. But there are some things bigger than party politics. What unites us is the firm belief that Ohio women should have the ability to make their own healthcare choices, free from the involvement of people like you,” the letter states. “The way you have insulted Ohio women, your clear disrespect for the will of the voters who made their position on this issue clear last year, and your repeated support for an abortion ban with no exceptions all make it clear we cannot trust you to fight for us.”
The Ohio GOP and Moreno’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Jezebel—on the letter, where he stands on a national abortion ban, and where he stands on exceptions, though, to be clear, medical experts argue these are ineffective.
Speaking to Ohio’s Statehouse News Bureau, some of the signatories were women “past 50,” who were especially outraged by Moreno’s comments. “I’m a 72 year-old-woman and of course I’m concerned about women’s reproductive issues. I’ve got daughters, I’ve got sisters, I’ve got nieces, I’ve got friends, all who I care about,” Jenny Conrad, a registered Republican in the state, said. “And even though I may be out of age, so to speak, they are not. And I care about them and I care about their right to be able to make their own health care decisions.”
Like the rest of the country, abortion has become a defining issue in elections in Ohio: Last year, Ohio voters decisively passed a ballot measure to restore abortion rights in the state, triumphing over a series of staggering Republican voter suppression efforts. So, you have to wonder why Moreno thought it wise to call the many women who supported this ballot measure “a little crazy,” and mock older women like Conrad, who will likely decide the outcome of his race.
Just over three weeks from Election Day and Moreno and Brown are currently in a statistical dead heat. Their race, like a handful of other close Senate races in Wisconsin, Michigan, Montana, and other swing states, could decide the fate of the Senate.
Faced with heated backlash over his comments, a spokesperson for Moreno told the local NBC station that the candidate was “clearly making a tongue-in-cheek joke about how Sherrod Brown and members of the left-wing media like to pretend that the only issue that matters to women voters is abortion.” But jokes are supposed to be funny, and as their open letter shows, so-called “crazy” Ohio women aren’t laughing.
Penny Schmitthenner, another Republican voter in Ohio who signed the open letter, told the News Bureau she’s voting for Brown because he “respects women,” explaining, “Just the way he chooses to represent Ohio and has for years and years and years, that’s why I was more than happy to sign the letter.” And, err, that’s great, though I do wonder why she’s a registered Republican if she’s looking for candidates who “respect women.”
That said, Schmitthenner is right that Moreno doesn’t. In February, Moreno suggested that abortion rights are unnecessary because women like his daughter simply need help carrying heavy strollers. In September, he lied that the abortion rights ballot measure that won in Ohio last year was only victorious thanks to cheating, erasing the expansive labor and passion of women voters fighting for their human rights in a red state.
Moreno’s not alone: GOP Senate candidates in close races are choosing to close out the election cycle with incredibly insulting comments toward women voters about abortion. In Florida, for example, Sen. Rick Scott (R) has lied that the state’s abortion rights ballot measure is a Democratic Party psy op to mobilize women voters. In Montana, GOP Senate candidate Tim Sheehy was recently caught accusing young women voters of being “indoctrinated” on abortion, which is “murder.” I guess we’ll see how this works out for them next month.
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