More than 1,200 Ohio women have signed an open letter to Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno to tell him they don’t think comments he made recently were funny, and that they're voting for his opponent.
Moreno has been lambasted for what he said to supporters in southwest Ohio last month.
“You know, the left has a lot of ‘single issue’ voters. Sadly, by the way, there’s a lot of suburban women that are like, ‘listen, abortion is it. If I can’t have an abortion in this country whenever I want, I will vote for anybody else,’” Moreno said. “Ok. A little crazy by the way. But, especially for women that are like past 50, I’m thinking to myself, ‘I don’t think that’s an issue for you."
Jenny Conrad, a Republican voter in the Mt. Orab area, was one of the people who signed the letter. She said abortion is not a "crazy women's issue." She sees it as a health care, family, relationship and "most importantly a freedom issue."
“I was insulted by Bernie Moreno’s comment about people over 50, women over 50, being just a little crazy. I'm a 72 year-old-woman and of course I'm concerned about womens' reproductive issues. I've got daughters, I've got sisters, I've got nieces, I've got friends, all who I care about," Conrad said. "And even though I may be out of age, so to speak, they are not. And I care about them and I care about their right to be able to make their own health care decisions."
Republican Penny Schmitthenner, a voter from Delaware, also signed the letter for the same reasons.
“Bernie Moreno is totally out of touch with Ohio voters," Schmitthenner said. She added she'll be voting for Brown because "he respects women."
"Just the way he chooses to represent Ohio and
has for years and years and years, that's why I was more than happy to sign the letter," Schmitthenner said.
Moreno’s comments have been talking points for U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown on the campaign trail. And he's put out television ads showing Moreno making those statements. Brown has repeatedly said he would uphold the reproductive rights amendment passed by 57% of Ohio voters last November.
Last week, Moreno’s campaign responded, in writing, to his comments. Spokesperson Reagan McCarthy said:
"Bernie was clearly making a tongue-in-cheek joke about how Sherrod Brown and members of the leftwing media like to pretend that the only issue that matters to women voters is abortion. Bernie's view is that women voters care just as much about the economy, rising prices, crime, and our open southern border as male voters do, and its disgusting that Democrats and their friends in the leftwing media constantly treat all women as if they're automatically single-issue voters on abortion who don't have other concerns that they vote on."
McCarthy did not address a question about whether Moreno would vote for a national abortion ban if it were to come before him.
