Tim Scott says he 'doesn't believe' abortion will impact GOP success in midterms
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., discusses the potential impact of the Dobbs decision on the midterm elections.
Top Republican Tim Scott rejects claims the GOP's electoral prospects at the November midterms are trending downward due to social conservatives' victory on abortion at the Supreme Court.
Responding to a clip of Janet Yellen injecting abortion into economics on "The Story" Thursday, Scott said it was "utterly irresponsible and incredible" for the treasury secretary to "suggest that poor women, and particularly black poor women, should not make that choice [in favor of life] so that they increase the labor force participation rate."
"I do not believe that [the Mississippi abortion verdict] will have a negative impact on us at the polls, to be honest with you," the South Carolina senator said. "But ultimately, the decision about life is not a left or right -- it's a wrong or right decision. And I am thankful for my mother ma[king] the choice that brought me into this world."
"So many millions of other kids are having the same experience, enjoying a fruit-filled life," added Scott, who grew up in an impoverished single-parent household in North Charleston, S.C. "Even for those of us starting in poverty, and it's one of the reasons why I talk about the painful, miserable story of my grandparents growing up in the Jim Crow South in my book, because I want people to know that there's life, there are reasons to be optimistic."
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Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
In the wake of Democratic Ulster County executive Pat Ryan defeating Dutchess County executive Marc Molinaro in a Poughkeepsie, N.Y.-area special election – during which Ryan made access to abortion a chief issue while Molinaro focused on the economy – Scott said there are other cases where such a strategy has backfired.
He pointed to comments by then-Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam – who he noted was previously a pediatrician from Onancock, Va. – who had floated the idea of post-birth abortions, in which the baby would be kept "comfortable" while mother and physician decided the next steps.
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Former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's abortion strategy backfired. (Bob Brown/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)
"I hope we maintain common sense and keep our focus on the American people and not on November as it relates to this very important issue," Scott said. "Think about the words of former Governor Northam… who said at the time, or at least alluded that perhaps infanticide was a new approach to this conversation around protecting and or eliminating life."
"We are on the side of protecting it," he stressed. "This is far more than just a political issue. This is an issue about the future of this nation and about humans flourishing because they have the chance to live."
When asked about a Washington Post analysis placing him fourth on a list of prospective 2024 Republican presidential nominees – ahead of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and behind former Vice President Mike Pence – Scott said the only race he is focused on is his 2022 re-election in South Carolina, and that the only ranking he is concerned with is the one that leaves his University of South Carolina Gamecocks football team off the Top-25.