Don Bolduc, a former Army general, won the Republican primary for New Hampshire’s Senate race last week. That same day, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) introduced a national ban on abortion after 15 weeks, which, uh, complicates the party’s “send abortion back to the states” narrative.
In an interview over the weekend, a local reporter asked Bolduc about Graham’s bill; Bolduc said that, if elected, he would vote against it, even though he is “pro-life,” because he thinks it’s a state issue. However, Bolduc, like many Republicans, has a fraught relationship with the truth: This is the same man who repeatedly said during his primary campaign that Donald Trump won the 2020 election—only to change his position less than two days after winning his primary, saying that President Joe Biden did, in fact, win that election.
I don’t trust any Republican who says they’d vote no on the bill. About 15 Republican Senators have publicly opposed Graham’s bill so far, but it’s extremely safe to bet that most, if not all, have only done so to provide cover for themselves and their colleagues running for reelection, given that midterms are 50 days away and voters are pissed that abortion bans are taking effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
In the interview, Bolduc appears to accuse his Democratic opponent, Sen. Maggie Hassan, of fearmongering about a national abortion ban, telling her to “get over it.”
“Granite Staters will be better served by working through their legislature to address that issue—not the federal government. And she just wants to hang on with [sic] dear life. Well guess what? Your views are not consistent with the average Granite Stater, number one. Number two, get over it. This [election] is about the economy, fiscal responsibility, and the safety and security of this nation.”
Here’s the full clip:
Hassan responded on Sunday, saying of an abortion ban, “women will not ‘get over it.’”
Leaving aside that being unable to choose if and when to have children is absolutely an economic issue, Bolduc may want to rethink his talking points here, given that abortion rights are the single issue most likely to make people vote this November. The fact that Republicans keep trying to downplay that fact shows you how terrified they are.