GOP strategists warn Dems are 'defining the narrative' on 'a losing' issue for Republicans

After Tuesday night's largely disappointing performance for Republicans in multiple states, national GOP campaign operatives are reportedly urging their slate of 2024 candidates to change their stances on abortion.

According to NBC News, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) recently told 2024 US Senate hopefuls to "clearly state their opposition to a national abortion ban and their support for reasonable limits on late-term abortions" in campaign speeches and political ads. Strategists' abortion messaging guidance comes on the heels of Ohio — a state that Donald Trump won in 2016 and 2020, with a Republican governor and Republican majorities in both chambers of its legislature — voting by a wide margin Tuesday night to permanently guarantee abortion rights in the state's constitution.

Dave Wasserman of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report told NBC that Ohio's vote is part of a nationwide trend of states consistently voting in favor of abortion rights since the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022.

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"The abortion issue is a losing one for Republicans, particularly in these Rust Belt states that have trended towards Trump," Wasserman said.

Democrats will be defending 23 US Senate seats in 2024 and are hoping to keep their majority in the chamber by differentiating themselves from their Republican opponents on the abortion issue. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who is running for a fourth term in 2024, told MSNBC he plans to make abortion rights a central issue in his campaign given Tuesday night's election results in the Buckeye State.

"My three opponents, there are three Republicans running for the Senate seat … all of them have said they want a national abortion ban," Brown said. "We’ve got to make sure that doesn’t happen. And that’s really my mission for the next 12 months."

Following Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley's remarks about abortion were praised by Republican messaging guru Frank Luntz, who said his party "would be stronger if they used her language."

READ MORE: Ohio enshrines abortion rights in state constitution: report

"This is a personal issue for every woman and every man," Haley said during the debate, emphasizing that the overturning of Roe made abortion rights an issue to be decided state-by state. "As much as I'm pro-life, I don't judge anyone for being pro-choice, and I don't want them to judge me for being pro-life. So when we're looking at this, there are some states that are going more on the pro-life side, I welcome that. There are some states that are going more on the pro-choice side. I wish that wasn't the case but the people decided."

An unnamed Republican strategist not authorized to speak on the record told NBC News that rather than alter the substance of their abortion stance, candidates should focus on different messaging.

"Democrats right now are really defining the narrative in terms of the abortion issue," the strategist said. "Republicans just need to talk more about what they believe. You have to state your support for exceptions."