Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) previewed Mitt Romney's primetime convention address tonight saying it will have a mix of elements from both the “head” and the “heart.”
Ayotte is one of the many young female GOP stars that were showcased this week at the party’s gathering in Tampa. After last week’s “rape” comments from Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO), the Republican party has had to deal with the resurgence of the abortion rights debate and talk of the “gender gap.” The party also just adopted a platform that does not include exceptions on abortion in cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother. Mitt Romney, on the other hand, does believe in having those exceptions.
When asked how Mitt Romney's views on this square with the party, Sen. Ayotte said, "there's wide room in our party for diverse views on those issues. ... That is demonstrated [by] our nominee and many in our party who have their own personal views on these issues, and we respect that."
The freshman senator also thinks the GOP is a different party than it was under the Bush administration and has become more fiscally responsible.
"I've acknowledged that when we look at the debt this is a bipartisan issue, that Republicans spent too much and Democrats spend too much." Ayotte pointed to budget proposals from Paul Ryan to show that the GOP is not "gonna duck the tough issues."
Watch the entire PRESS Pass conversation above to hear more from Sen. Kelly Ayotte and the 2012 race, and get her reviews on some of the speeches thus far in Tampa.
