GOP ground game focuses on abortion to turn out base

[DonViejo]

The issue isn’t front and center on the airwaves, but Republican and anti-abortion groups have made the issue a major part of their ground game.

By JAMES ARKIN 09/26/2018 05:04 AM EDT

Republicans desperate to juice base turnout in a brutal election cycle are weaponizing abortion against incumbent Democratic senators in more than a half-dozen races that could determine control of the chamber.

The issue is getting a fraction of the attention of President Donald Trump, health care and immigration. But Republican and anti-abortion groups have made it a major part of their ground game: Organizers for Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion group, ran a series of events in red states in August and early September and have had more than 500 canvassers knock on doors at more than 1.6 million homes in Ohio, Florida, Missouri, Indiana, West Virginia and North Dakota.

Abortion is a perennial issue for Republican campaigns around the country, but Republicans are attacking it with new urgency this year as they face a potentially disastrous enthusiasm gap in the fall elections. For the first time in several midterms, the GOP is worried its base won’t turn out to vote, and abortion is a powerful motivator for the conservatives who could put Republican Senate candidates over the top in key states.

Specifically, Republicans are tagging Democratic incumbents as supporters of late-term abortion and taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood. Even as national Democrats organize like never before around threats to abortion rights and Trump's judicial picks, Republicans looking at the narrow, more conservative Senate map see a different picture that they believe tilts toward them on this key issue.

"It is very clear that there is a sizable pro-life base that can deliver victories on the margins," said Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony List.

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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/26/abortion-republicans-midterms-base-841999