Ohio US Senate Candidate Calls Women Above 50 and Their Focus on Abortion Rights 'A Little Crazy'

Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno made a bizarre statement recently about women over the age of 50 for an odd reason. The conservative political candidate's statement, made during a campaign stop, faced immense backlash after he questioned the choices of women. According to The Daily Beast, he said, "You know, the left has a lot of single-issue voters. Sadly, by the way, there’s 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.’"

Moreno went on to controversially say, "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.’ Oh, thank God my wife didn’t hear that one." However, this sentiment was not well-received by many, and they took to social media to chide Moreno for the same. 

Nikki Haley, the former presidential candidate took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to question the words by Moreno (captured in a video obtained by Columbus TV station WCMH). "Are you trying to lose the election? Asking for a friend. #Tonedeaf #DonLemonVibes," she tweeted as she shared an NBC News link. 

After netizens called his statement offensive, Moreno's campaign spokesperson Reagan McCarthy claimed it was a harmless joke that should not be taken literally. In the statement generated after the furor, the spokesperson said, "Bernie was clearly making a tongue-in-cheek joke about how Sherrod Brown and members of the left-wing media like to pretend that the only issue that matters to women voters is abortion."

Adding further, Reagan said, "Bernie’s view is that women voters care just as much about the economy, rising prices, crime, and our open southern border as male voters do, and it’s disgusting that Democrats and their friends in the left-wing media constantly treat all women as if they’re automatically single-issue voters on abortion who don’t have other concerns that they vote on."

Schuyler Beckwith, the chairman of the Lucas County Democratic Party expressed that the statement by Moreno didn't shock her. However, she expressed her fear that such speeches may become the new norm in American politics. "I find it very offensive coming from someone who wants to go represent Ohio women in the Senate," Beckwith said, per The Blade. Adding further to the issue, she advocated how imperative abortion rights are. "Abortion and women’s health care is an economic issue, it’s a health-care issue, it’s a safety issue," she said. 

This isn't the first time Moreno commented on the calls for the right to abort a fetus by women. As per The Hill, he recently said he supported 'common-sense restrictions' when it came to abortion but that it should mostly be left up to the individual states. However, as per the same report, Moreno was 'absolutely pro-life, no exceptions,' till 2022.