Republican Governors Association Chairman Bill Lee (R-TN) pushed back on claims that abortion has been the sole deciding factor in various GOP losses since the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court last year.
Lee, who was first elected governor of Tennessee in 2018, contested a question about how he would advise GOP gubernatorial candidates to discuss abortion in the wake of various losses blamed on the topic in an interview with Politico published Thursday.
NIKKI HALEY CIVIL WAR FLAP EVOKES MEMORIES OF JOHN MCCAIN CONFEDERATE FLAG CONTROVERSY
“You started off by saying the races came down to abortion. That’s yet to be seen, really. What a race comes down to is oftentimes not as it appears. I’ll just say that the more I’ve gotten involved in races and data and spending and issue spends and after-analysis, I’ve realized that there are a lot of things that affect races,” Lee said.
He discussed how abortion is a “deeply personal” topic and said candidates should be careful when talking about the matter on the campaign trail and when governing.
“But clearly, that issue is one that is broadly talked about and very important in American politics today. It’s one that is very difficult. So, my thoughts are, ‘Know what you believe. Be very clear about it. And then recognize that it’s deeply personal,'” Lee continued.
“This issue is much bigger and much broader than just the termination of a pregnancy. This issue is not just about the life of an unborn child. It’s about a mother, a father, a family, a circumstance. It’s about a lot of very difficult, very deeply personal issues. Families need support around them.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
He also pushed back on the notion that the Kentucky gubernatorial race last month, which saw Republican Daniel Cameron lose to incumbent Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY), was decided by abortion, saying instead it was lost due to a string of other matters, including the massive spending discrepancy between the two campaigns.
While gubernatorial races deal with a variety of topics, when voters have decided on abortion directly on the ballot, measures allowing for the expansion of abortion have won in nearly every instance. Most recently, Ohio voters elected to enshrine abortion into the state constitution in November.
