Endangered GOP lawmakers fleeing questions about destruction of Roe v. Wade: report

GOP lawmakers already facing an uphill battle as they seek re-election in November are now finding that their campaigns are being hampered by questions about their party's part in getting Roe v. Wade overturned by the conservative Supreme Court.

According to a report from Politico's Sarah Farris and Sally Mutnick, with most Republicans across the board praising the controversial ruling written by Justice Sam Alito, GOP lawmakers in battleground states are hoping the furor dies down before people vote later this year.

According to Politico, "as abortion rights remain highly popular with voters, including in swing districts, most of those vulnerable lawmakers were uninterested in discussing the particulars of what, if anything, should happen following the court’s Friday ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade."

Case in point, the report notes, is Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI) who is being buffeted by attacks from Democrats and former president Donald Trump, and who gave a terse "No' when asked about codifying Roe v Wade before dashing onto the House floor.

RELATED: Justice Alito detailed long-term plan to overturn Roe v Wade in 1985 memo: report

"Democrats say that silence, or occasional deflection, is a telling sign that Republicans know abortion rights remain broadly popular with much of the electorate — and that the GOP will soon face the wrath of suburban and purple-district voters," Farris and Mutnik wrote. "Some Republicans, too, acknowledge that abortion rights polling generally favors the left. But they say voters are harder to pin down when it comes to 'late-term' abortion or 'heartbeat' bans — terms the GOP leveraged to define the debate in recent years as the religious right gained influence."

Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) conceded that the issue could cripple his party in the midterms, telling Politico, “It may well hurt us in old Republican suburban strongholds, but those have been slipping away from us for a variety of reasons, gun control among them."

California Rep. David Valadao (R) also admitted it will be a problem for him while hedging on codifying Roe. "Obviously, I’m very pro-life. I’m going to continue to be. Probably the folks who would make a decision off of that, are probably folks that wouldn’t vote for me anyways.”

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