Thus far, nine Republicans* have declared they are running for president and (with the exception of former President Donald Trump) hoping to occupy the White House for the next eight years. Carol Tobias of the National Right to Life Committee tells AFN each candidate has a record on the abortion issue.
"We've got some great people running – and they are all pro-life," she begins. "They're going to have maybe slightly different ways of describing their position [when it comes to abortion], but any one of them is going to be 180 degrees [from] where the Biden administration is trying to take us."
AFN asked Tobias if she's concerned, for example, with Trump criticizing just-announced candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis (Florida) for signing a bill to ban abortion after about six weeks. She notes that not all voters are pro-life.
"And [the candidates] need to find ways to relate to [voters] and to reach out to them," the pro-life leader explains. "Many of [the candidates], I think, maybe are trying to figure out how to frame the message and put their position in the best light without upsetting a lot of the people that they actually need votes from to get elected."
As far as getting pro-life legislation passed on Capitol Hill and then signed into law, Tobias points out that 60 votes in the Senate are needed to get any kind of pro-life measure passed and that Republicans are 12 votes behind in that endeavor.
Still, she says, a president can take steps to save babies' lives, so the campaigns and election are vital for the country – and the preborn children.
At issue: Performance while in office
Meanwhile, a conservative political activist in Massachusetts has jumped off the Trump train onto the DeSantis train – but it has nothing to do with their pro-life creds. Brian Camenker, director of MassResistance, says he likes the fact the Florida governor consistently accomplishes what he sets out to do.
"The thing about DeSantis, and people don't seem to pick up on it, is that he knows how to get things done. He understands how government works and he can take over and get it done. When he wants something done in Florida, anywhere, it happens," the conservative activist tells AFN.
Trump's performance, he argues, was inconsistent – due in part to the former president's choice of people around him.
"The problem with Trump wasn't … so much his personality, although that was a problem to me," says Camenker. "But he really was incapable of getting anything done except just here and there. He put in horrible people – [but] DeSantis never does that. He knows personnel really well. He gets the right people in the right places. I think that's why a lot of people like him."
* Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Asa Hutchinson, Vivek Ramaswamy, Larry Elder, Perry Johnson, and Ryan Binkley
