Former Wisconsin governor says GOP is in trouble when it focuses on single issues like abortion 

Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) says his party is in trouble when it focuses on single issues such as abortion.

Walker’s comments come after Ohio voters rejected a GOP-backed ballot measure that would have made it harder to amend the state constitution by requiring the approval of 60 percent of voters to pass a constitutional amendment instead of a simple majority.

Tuesday’s special election came before Ohioans go to the polls in November to vote on a separate ballot measure that seeks to enshrine abortion rights into the state’s constitution; as a result, Democrats saw Issue 1 as a way for Republicans to make that tougher.

---

Related coverage from The Hill

• Ohio Democrats celebrate rejection of Issue 1 seen as threat to abortion rights effort
• GOP alarms go off after Ohio abortion vote
• After proxy fight, Ohio’s actual abortion battle begins

---

Walker, in an interview with MSNBC’s Chuck Todd, said the results in Ohio were the outcome of a resource issue rather than a messaging one, pointing to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s (R) landslide victory over Democrat nominee and former Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley in last fall’s gubernatorial election.

“Mike DeWine signed some of the most pro-life laws in the nation, and he won in Ohio last fall by 25 points; One million more votes were cast for him than the Democrat running on a very pro-abortion position.

“What that tells me is that if Republicans are just focused on one issue, they are going to have a bit of a challenge,” Walker said.

The former governor suggested that if his party takes the approach other successful governors in red states have taken, Republicans still have a shot in next year’s election.

“If you do, not just DeWine, but Kim Reynolds, Ron DeSantis, Greg Abbott, all these other pro-life governors did and run on a full-scale agenda, I think you have a shot,” he said.

At the same time, Walker acknowledged that single referendums on abortion are going to be tough for Republicans to win.

“At least in swing states…The money’s not on the side of the pro-life position,” Walker claimed. “There’s not a financial interest for this; it’s a moral issue, but it’s not a financial issue.”