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Within recent years, the issue of abortion in the United States has become deeply controversial and polarizing. Many Republicans cheered last June when the Supreme Court did away with Roe v. Wade.

During the midterm elections, several Republicans ran on platforms that endorsed total abortion bans without exceptions for rape, incest, or even the health of the woman in some cases.

Republicans who campaigned on this, such as Michigan and Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidates Tudor Dixon and Doug Mastriano, lost their elections to Democrats.

Now, as former President Trump embarks on his third presidential run, he is warning Republicans against embracing extreme anti-abortion positions.

Trump on the GOP and abortion

The former president took to Truth Social on New Year's Day, dodging blame for Republicans doing not so well in the midterms last year. Trump said it wasn't his fault, but rather the result of GOP candidates embracing abortion bans without exceptions for rape, incest, or the woman's health/life.

Later, the 2024 presidential candidate claimed Republicans mismanaged abortion after getting what they wanted last June when Roe v. Wade fell.

These statements from Trump also mirror comments he shared during an interview with Breitbart News in late December 2022.

The former president expressed that Republicans who refuse to accept exceptions for rape, incest, and health/life of the woman when it comes to abortion bans will lose races in most of the country.

Finally, Trump suggested during his interview with Breitbart that he told Dixon and Mastriano they'd lose their elections over not supporting the three exceptions.

The national electorate on abortion

Political data and other evidence continue to show the majority of Americans do not favor total abortion bans with no exceptions.

While such bans are popular among the religious right, there are not enough voters who support this for one to win a national election running on these policies.

Towards the end of last year, voters in the conservative state of Kansas rejected a ballot measure that would have removed abortion protections from the state's constitution.

Likewise, multiple polls from last year showed that most Americans did not agree with the Supreme Court's overturn of Roe v. Wade.

There is no denying most of Trump's handpicked candidates in the midterm elections went down in flames. There is also no denying that polling shows the majority of Americans do not believe Trump should run for president again.

However, it is remiss not to acknowledge the negative impact that extreme anti-abortion positions are having on Republicans' abilities to win elections.