In a race between a Democrat who could be America’s first female president and a Republican who has been found liable for sexual abuse, the issue of gender was always going to be inescapable.
But this week, the subject surged to the forefront of the fall contest in new and vivid ways, as Democrats found fresh fuel for their argument that today’s Republican Party is disrespectful of women and their autonomy — sometimes with dangerous consequences.
On Monday and Wednesday, the deaths of two mothers in Georgia were linked to the state’s far-reaching abortion ban in new reports from ProPublica.
On Thursday, the deeply conservative Republican nominee for governor in North Carolina scrambled to deny that he had made graphic and incendiary remarks on a pornographic forum, including about women.
And on Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris took to a stage in Atlanta to argue with new urgency that the Republican Party was infringing on some of the most personal decisions a woman can make.
“It’s clear that they just don’t trust women,” said Ms. Harris, speaking a day after joining a livestreamed event with Oprah Winfrey that attracted hundreds of thousands of viewers. “Well, we trust women.”
For years, Democrats have tried to paint their Republican opponents as anti-woman, with mixed results.
In 2012, they effectively highlighted Republican comments, like the use of the term “legitimate rape” by Todd Akin, a Senate candidate in Missouri, to press their claims of a G.O.P. “war on women.”
Four years later, however, Donald J. Trump defeated another would-be first female president, Hillary Clinton, despite being caught on a recording bragging about sexually assaulting women. And in plenty of races before and after, many Americans simply did not buy the Democratic argument that Republicans would take away abortion rights if given the chance.
But after Mr. Trump’s Supreme Court nominees helped overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, millions of Americans suddenly found themselves voting to protect or restore abortion access — and to punish Republicans.
Now, in an unpredictable presidential election shaped by a yawning gender gap and simmering concerns about the economy, Democrats hope abortion rights will be galvanizing once again. Increasingly, they are drawing voters’ attention to the cascade of disturbing stories tied to abortion restrictions that many Americans view as draconian.
“Every week, there are different examples of the harmful consequences of these abortion bans,” said Molly Murphy, a pollster for the Harris campaign. “Being able to elevate and show that this has real consequences to real people is an important part of our campaign.”
That was a goal of Ms. Harris’s appearance in Atlanta. She and other Democrats are casting abortion access as a health care matter that should be nonpartisan and that carries vast implications for a broad swath of Americans.
And when Democrats highlight Republicans’ past comments calling for strict abortion laws, they hope that voters will now take those candidates at their word.
That is why, despite the near-unprintable statements reportedly made by Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson of North Carolina that CNN uncovered this week, some national Democrats are using the scandal to emphasize his anti-abortion stance, rather than focusing on the most salacious comments.
A television ad in North Carolina, announced on Friday by the Harris campaign, called “Both Wrong,” showcased Mr. Trump’s past praise of Mr. Robinson, alternating with video clips of the North Carolinian discussing abortion. The ad shows Mr. Robinson declaring that abortions amount to “killing a child because you weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down.”
“This is ‘War on Women’ on steroids,” said former Representative Barbara Comstock, a Virginia Republican who is voting this year for Ms. Harris, the first Democratic presidential candidate to ever earn her vote, she said.
Compared with Mr. Akin’s remarks, Ms. Comstock said, this moment is “exponentially politically toxic because there’s nothing worse than being a hypocrite, particularly on these things that are so toxic with women.”
“It is Team Misogyny with Trump,” she added.
Penny Nance, who leads the socially conservative group Concerned Women for America, suggested that it was unfair to link the latest reported comments about Mr. Robinson to Mr. Trump.
“If this is confirmed as true, then he should drop out of the race,” she said of Mr. Robinson, adding: “That’s not President Trump’s fault. I mean, give me a break.”
Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Mr. Trump, said in a statement that he was “loved by millions of women across the country” and would prioritize “expanding access to child care and paid family leave” in a future administration. She also sought to distance him from the idea of a total abortion ban in the United States.
“He will not sign a federal ban when he is back in the White House,” Ms. Leavitt said. “President Trump also supports universal access to contraception and I.V.F.”
Republicans have plenty of advantages in this race: For many voters, Mr. Trump is seen as the change candidate. In polling, he has the edge on the economy, a top issue for many Americans. And while Ms. Harris has benefited from a surge in support from women, Mr. Trump has strong standing among male voters.
But there is a major difference between this election and all the times before when Democrats cast their Republican rivals as anti-woman.
“Back then, that’s what the Democrats had: They had outrageous statements” from their opponents to discuss, said Christine Matthews, a pollster who has worked with Republicans but opposes Mr. Trump, citing the 2012 races.
“Now,” she said, “they can point to policies.”
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