GOP strategists hammer Lindsey Graham for 'inexplicable' stunt

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Tuesday unveiled a new bill that would enact a national ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy -- and vowed it would come up for a vote if Republicans retook both chambers of Congress.

However, many Republican strategists in key swing states are not on board with Graham's new bill, which they say will help Democrats take voters' minds off of inflation and other economic woes.

In interviews with NBC News, many GOP strategists openly took shots at Graham for what they said was a risky political stunt.

"Considering that the GOP nominee for governor [in Michigan] is desperately trying to change the media discussion back to inflation, education and crime and the congressional committees are running ads in multiple districts hitting Democrats on spending, Graham’s actions are practically inexplicable politically," said Michigan Republican strategist John Sellek.

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"Bad idea," GOP strategist Chris Mottola similarly told NBC. "It rips open a political sore. The political environment was moving back to economic issues. It further nationalizes an issue that works against Republicans generically."

And an unnamed adviser to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp simply told NBC News that abortion had become a losing issue for Republicans.

"We don’t want this debate," he said. "It doesn’t help."