How Montana Republicans Should “Engage” on Abortion in 2024

How Montana Republicans Should “Engage” on Abortion in 2024 

Gianforte: Overturning of Roe v. Wade was a “historic win”

After voters across the country rejected Republicans’ extreme attacks on reproductive freedom last year, the Republican Governors Association said it plans to “encourage GOP candidates to engage on this issue” in 2024.

All this week, the Democratic Governors Association is offering a preview of what it could look like if Republican gubernatorial candidates heed this advice and lean into their extreme and deeply unpopular efforts to restrict abortion in even the most dire circumstances.

Today, we’re headed to Montana, where Gov. Greg Greg Gianforte has had a busy three years of stripping away Montanans’ treasured reproductive freedom.

Unlike some of his fellow Republicans, Gov. Gianforte does not need a pep-talk from the RGA to “engage” voters on his proud record as one of the nation’s fiercest opponents of abortion rights. Last year, Gianforte openly defied the majority of Montana voters who resoundingly rejected abortion restrictions at the ballot box, in order to rewrite the constitution and challenge the state Supreme Court to throw out more than twenty years of precedent on this issue.

Even before Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, Gianforte was working hard to restrict abortion access at every turn — enacting abortion restrictions that past Democratic governors had blocked, and before that, voting as a member of Congress to pass a national abortion ban, defund Planned Parenthood, apply criminal penalties to doctors who perform abortions, and allow companies to fire workers for getting an abortion.

Now, as Montanans prepare to vote once more this year on protecting reproductive freedom, there’s no better time for Gianforte to lean into his extreme record of using every branch of government to deny his constituents their rights.

“If Republicans are looking for guidance on how to ‘engage’ voters on their extreme agenda, they should look to Montana, where Gov. Greg Gianforte is leading a masterclass on unapologetically defying the will of his citizens in order to take away their rights,” said DGA Deputy Communications Director Izzi Levy. “While Montanans have made clear where they stand when it comes to protecting reproductive freedom, Gianforte has made clear that he could not care less about the people of his state.”

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