MILWAUKEE — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) outlined the abortion stance he believes will save Republicans in 2024 — his.
Johnson spoke to the local Moms for Liberty chapter at a Milwaukee hotel and said his policy on abortion is the reason he won reelection last year while Democrats took the governor's race.
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“Right now, the pro-life groups are in danger of snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory,” Johnson said. “The Supreme Court, nine justices made the decision for all of us. First of all, it didn’t solve the debate. But these pro-life groups were asking to have that decision on abortion sent back to the states, sent back to the people. So we ought to let the people make that decision.”
Johnson stressed that he supports anti-abortion groups and their concerns about helping mothers but also noted, "We're living in a secular society." He thus called for a stand-alone statewide abortion vote for voters to decide the issue at the ballot box and predicted that Republicans would continue to lose statewide elections if it's not solved via a ballot initiative.
"This is how this should be decided. We should do it in 50 states," he said. "And in Wisconsin, if we expect to win statewide elections, we better grapple intelligibly with the abortion issue. Because standing pat on the 1849 law will be used to gin up votes in Madison forever."
Democrats are already hammering Republicans over abortion in the 2024 presidential race as GOP candidates stake out a variety of stances on the issue.
Asked by the Washington Examiner what abortion stance he believes the 2024 Republican presidential candidate should have, Johnson said it's his ballot initiative idea.
"That would be my recommendation for our presidential candidates too," he said. "Bottom line, let we the people decide, and lay out what the question is and at what point we have a responsibility to protect the life of an unborn child."
Johnson added that the "mainstream media" won't cover the idea because "they know it's the solution" for Republicans to win.
The Democratic National Committee opened an afternoon press conference in Milwaukee by savaging Republican presidential candidates over their abortion policies, and Johnson predicted that the tactic will be successful if voters don't get to choose directly.
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Abortion is expected to be one of the questions asked of candidates at Wednesday night's debate, the first since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision sent abortion policy back to the states.
"I’d much rather, through an education campaign, decide that now: to protect life pretty darn early," Johnson said. "Not as early as some people like, but it’s a whole lot better than I think the eventual alternative. And along the way, we'd just lose election after election after election like we did in the [state] Supreme Court race, like we did the governor’s race."