Ohio GOP Senate candidate says 'a lot of suburban women' are 'single-issue voters' on abortion

Ohio Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno is facing a wave of criticism over his remarks about suburban women and abortion heading into the homestretch of the competitive race.

Moreno said at a town hall in Warren County on Friday that many "suburban women" are "single-issue voters" when it comes to abortion. He also said it's "a little crazy" that some women over 50 care about abortion access.

“You know, the left has a lot of single-issue voters,” Moreno said. “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.’ … OK. 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.’”

NBC affiliate WCMH of Columbus was the first to report on his comments and obtained a video of them.

A spokesperson for Moreno downplayed the remarks as a "tongue-in-cheek joke" about his Democratic opponent, Sen. Sherrod Brown, and the media.

Reagan McCarthy said in a statement, “Bernie was clearly making a tongue-in-cheek joke about how Sherrod Brown and members of the leftwing media like to pretend that the only issue that matters to women voters is abortion.”

Brown, who faces a tough re-election fight, responded in a statement, “The people of Ohio think women should have the power to make their own health care decisions, Bernie Moreno thinks he should."

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“As a man over the age of 50, I care deeply about a woman’s right to make health care decisions for herself — for my daughters, my granddaughters, and all Ohio women, regardless of their age," he added.

Brown, who was first elected in 2006, is one of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats up for re-election this year. The seat is considered a top target for Republicans who are vying to win back control of the Senate. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has rated the contest as a "toss up." Donald Trump won the state in 2016 and 2020.

Even some Republicans joined the chorus of Democrats criticizing Moreno.

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley wrote on X: “Are you trying to lose the election? Asking for a friend. #Tonedeaf #DonLemonVibes.”

Maura Gillespie, who was an aide to former House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, called the comment “moronic.”

“I feel as though I’m a broken record, but a woman’s worth is not tied to her womb. And to talk about abortion as if it’s just about one single thing — it’s women’s health,” she said on CNN.

“I think that Republicans will continue to lose on this issue if they undermine women,” she added.

Gillespie said comments like Moreno’s isolate the voter base he needs to win Ohio. She pointed to a ballot initiative that passed in Ohio in November that protects abortion and reproductive rights in the state.

Abortion has become a salient issue in Ohio and nationwide in the two years since Roe v. Wade was overturned. Ohio voters in November passed a ballot measure enshrining the right to abortion care in the state constitution. Ballot measures protecting abortion access have passed in several states since the Supreme Court ruling and will be on the ballot in 10 more in November.