July 7, 2016

Republican Politicians Can Try to Run From Donald Trump, But This Pro-Choice Group Won’t Let Them

A bunch of brutal new ads should have GOP senators panicking.

Andy Martin Jr./ZUMA

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With two weeks to go before Donald Trump takes the stage at the Republican National Convention, an abortion rights group is launching a campaign linking anti-abortion GOP senators to the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee.

NARAL Pro-Choice America kicked off its #TrumpSquadGoals campaign on Thursday, targeting eight incumbent Republican senators up for reelection this year: Richard Burr (N.C.), Roy Blunt (Mo.), Pat Toomey (Pa.), Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Ron Johnson (Wis.), Rob Portman (Ohio), Chuck Grassley (Iowa), and John McCain (Ariz.). The campaign also includes Rep. Joe Heck of Nevada, a three-term congressman competing for the seat left open by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s upcoming retirement.

Politico reports that NARAL will run Facebook and Twitter advertisements in the home state of each lawmaker and “will include an animated gif from the movie ‘Zoolander’ with one of the targeted Republicans photoshopped into a partying group that includes Trump, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.”

Many of the senators in the ads have a rocky history with Trump; they have either publicly spoken out against him, issued tepid endorsements, or remained silent on his status as the GOP’s presumptive nominee. All have said they will not attend this year’s Republican National Convention, which is scheduled to begin on July 18 in Cleveland.

“These candidates may be able to run from Cleveland but they can’t hide from their record,” NARAL Pro-Choice America’s chief strategist Sasha Bruce said in a press release announcing the campaign. “Just like Trump, these candidates want to punish women by banning abortion, reducing access to health services and rolling back decades’ worth of progress.”

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We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

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