Thread by @sbaprolife

THREAD: #Election2022 recap

The key takeaway is clear:

GOP pro-life candidates WIN in competitive races if they define their opponents as abortion extremists who support abortion on demand with NO limits... 1/

...and contrast that with a clearly defined pro-life position centered around consensus such as pain-capable or heartbeat limits.

This must be the key takeaway for the GOP as we head into the 2024 presidential cycle, especially those eyeing a run for the White House. 2/

Candidates in competitive races who did this effectively and either won or have a strong shot at winning include @marcorubio, @TedBuddNC, @JDVance1, @HerschelWalker, @RonDeSantisFL, @GregAbbott_TX, @BrianKempGA , @MikeDeWine & @KariLake 3/

It’s especially worth highlighting -- as @marcthiessen did on Fox News last night -- the governors who signed ambitious pro-life legislation into law and never flinched politically, despite running in competitive states: 4/

There’s no doubt that the Dobbs decision was a political earthquake – creating a unique opportunity for Democrats to motivate their depressed base and giving them the best opportunity they’ll ever have to use the issue politically. 5/

Dems took the opportunity and ran with it, spending $391M on abortion-focused TV ads alone during the general election, versus just $11M on the GOP side, a 35:1 spending ratio.

Yet for those candidates who went on offense, the astonishing amount of money did not prevail. 6/

We also see examples of GOP candidates who were not prepared and took the ostrich strategy: burying their heads in the sand and running from the issue, allowing their opponents to define them.

A good example of this is Dr. Oz in Pennsylvania. 7/

This losing ostrich strategy was largely pushed by inside-the-beltway consultants who urged candidates to totally ignore abortion and hope it went away.

Given the Dobbs earthquake – that everyone knew for months was coming – the ostrich strategy was political malpractice. 8/

Heading into the 2024 presidential cycle, we have a clear message for GOP presidential hopefuls: Go on offense to expose Biden and the Dems as the true extremists who don’t support ANY limits on abortion... 9/

...and contrast this with a strong GOP pro-life agenda centered on national minimum protections for the unborn child and mothers either at the point in which they feel pain or when their heartbeat can be detected. 10/

GOP primary candidates may have different views on what is achievable. We welcome that debate -- and even more so in the general election setting. 11/11