EMILY’s List targeting 23 House Republicans over positions on abortion

EMILY’s List, which works to support female candidates who are pro-abortion rights, is targeting 23 House Republicans over their positions on the procedure ahead of the 2024 elections. 

Punchbowl News first reported the plan on Wednesday, laying out where the group will focus its attacks in the aftermath of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade last year. 

The GOP House members that the organization is targeting are Reps. Juan Ciscomani (Ariz.), David Schweikert (Ariz.), Ken Calvert (Calif.), John Duarte (Calif.), Mike Garcia (Calif.), Michelle Steel (Calif.), David Valadao (Calif.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Maria Elvira Salazar (Fla.), Ashley Hinson (Iowa), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa), Zach Nunn (Iowa), Don Bacon (Neb.), Tom Kean (N.J.), Anthony D’Esposito (N.Y.), Nick LaLota (N.Y.), Mike Lawler (N.Y.), Marc Molinaro (N.Y.), George Santos (N.Y.), Brandon Williams (N.Y.), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (Ore.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.) and Jen Kiggans (Va.). 

The Hill has reached out to EMILY’s List for confirmation. 

One release announcing the group’s plan to target Ciscomani that Punchbowl obtained states that he is among 22 other “extremist anti-choice House Republicans.” 

Democrats emphasized protecting abortion rights ahead of the 2022 midterms, and exit polls indicated that the message resonated with voters. The polls showed 27 percent of voters said abortion was the most important issue they were considering when deciding who to vote for, and those voters supported Democrats by more than a 3-to-1 margin. 

Only inflation was named as a more important issue by voters, and only by 4 points. 

Polls had showed Republicans leading in the generic congressional ballot and in key races until Democrats began to close the gap in June, when the Supreme Court struck down the right to abortion in its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling. 

Republicans ultimately had a disappointing performance on Election Day, failing to take back control of the Senate and only winning the House by a narrow margin. Historically, the party not in control of the White House has usually made significant gains in both houses of Congress during midterm election years.