Harris’ Plan to Win Men Over with Abortion Ads (As if That’s Top of Their List)
It’s almost laughable how the Democrats keep trying to make abortion the main issue for men, while the rest of the country is drowning in inflation. Kamala Harris’ campaign is on a bus tour trying to convince us that men should care more about “reproductive rights” than about their own wallets. Seriously? It’s like they think a few heart-wrenching stories are going to make voters forget about gas prices.
Marcia Ruberg, a 69-year-old retired psychologist, remembers life before Roe v. Wade. She showed up at one of Harris’ campaign stops in Pennsylvania, wearing a shirt that said, “Vote Like it’s 1973,” because apparently, she thinks that’s the most pressing issue in 2024. Her husband, Gary Goldberg, a 70-year-old retired software developer, was there too, declaring that men should care about women’s reproductive rights. Now, I don’t know about you, but when a guy like Goldberg starts preaching about abortion while groceries are doubling in price, it’s hard to take him seriously.
The media, of course, is lapping this up, as usual. They’re pushing this narrative that abortion isn’t just a woman’s issue anymore—it’s a “family issue” that affects men, too. As if that’s going to make the average guy who’s struggling to pay his bills suddenly change his vote. They’ve rolled out men like Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, to tell us how abortion restrictions supposedly hurt families. Nice try, but it’s not exactly resonating with voters who are more worried about the cost of living.
Republican pollster Whit Ayres hit the nail on the head when he said that voters are more motivated by issues like the economy, inflation, and immigration than by abortion. Sure, the people who care about abortion are passionate about it, but they’re not the majority. The Democrats hope to win by pulling on emotional heartstrings, but they’re completely out of touch with what voters are actually dealing with.
Harris’ campaign is dumping millions into ads that focus almost exclusively on abortion, especially in battleground states like Pennsylvania. But the reality is, most voters—and especially men—just don’t care about it as much as the Democrats think. Recent polls show that 40% of Pennsylvania voters rank the economy as their top concern, while only 12% are focused on abortion. And of that 12%, only 4% are men. So, the idea that Harris can win over male voters with emotional appeals about abortion? It’s just not going to happen.
Republicans, meanwhile, are smart enough to stay quiet about abortion in their ads. They know what really matters to voters, and it’s not the Harris campaign’s bus tour. The GOP has spent $175 million on TV ads without mentioning abortion once. Why? Because they understand that voters are more concerned about inflation and jobs. Democrats, on the other hand, have dumped $40 million into abortion-focused ads, thinking that’s their ticket to victory.
Take the Harris campaign’s so-called “Reproductive Freedom” bus tour. They’re parading out speakers like Hadley Duvall, who talks about how she was raped at 12 and became pregnant. It’s a horrific story, and sure, it tugs at the heartstrings, but let’s not kid ourselves—this isn’t going to change how most people vote. The Harris campaign thinks that these stories are going to make men suddenly rally behind abortion rights, but the truth is, most men aren’t paying attention to this. They’re paying attention to how much it costs to fill up their gas tanks and feed their families.
Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania is trying to argue that men do care about abortion, pointing to the recent elections where Democrats won by focusing on the issue. But the reality is, these were elections where Democrats already had the upper hand, and abortion wasn’t the only issue on the ballot. Shapiro can try to tie reproductive rights to “freedom” all he wants, but that doesn’t change the fact that most voters are focused on the economy.
So, while the Harris campaign continues its bus tour and rolls out emotional stories, Republicans are staying focused on the issues that really matter to voters. And when it comes time to vote, people will remember that it’s not abortion keeping them up at night—it’s the cost of living.