Republicans call in their wives to help fight midterms after abortion backlash

With less than two months to the US midterm elections Republican candidates are calling in their wives in an attempt to rescue hopes of a "red wave" in November.

Party strategists have described how their candidates in crucial Senate races - all of them men - are "getting killed" among suburban female voters following the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which had enshrined a national right to abortion.

Senior Republican officials have stressed a need to "soften our guys" and "show compassion" on the abortion issue, with wives now being put front and centre in TV campaign adverts.

In Arizona, a key Republican target, polling showed the party's Senate candidate Blake Masters trailing by 22 points with female voters after the ruling by the Supreme Court, which is dominated by Republican-appointed justices.

Mr Masters has responded by using the first TV advert of his campaign to have his wife Catherine address the electorate.

He also removed from his website a statement that he was "100 per cent pro-life," and reversed his position on a sweeping national abortion ban.

Similarly, in Ohio, the first TV advert from Republican candidate J.D. Vance, author of "Hillbilly Elegy," featured his wife Usha. “He’s an incredible father," Mrs Vance told Ohioans.

Adam Laxalt, the Republican candidate in Nevada also had his wife Jaime reassure voters in an advert that he is a "good man".

In Colorado, the Republican candidate Joe O’Dea's campaign advert featured his wife Celeste telling how he was adopted at birth, and his daughter affirmed that he supported "abortion rights," contraception and same-sex marriage.

Abortion a bigger issue than inflation for voters

Since the Supreme Court ruling, on June 24, Democrats have become clear favourites to cling on to control of the Senate, and increased their chance of maintaining a slim majority in the House of Representatives when voters got to the polls on Nov 8.

Republican candidates are endeavouring to make the election about the economy, particularly inflation, rather than abortion.

But a recent Wall Street Journal poll showed that, when Americans were asked what issue was most likely to make them vote, the Roe v. Wade decision was top, ahead of inflation.

Over 75 per cent of those who chose the abortion ruling as the driving issue were Democrats.

It reflected a new enthusiasm among Democrat voters that Joe Biden had failed to inspire.

The same poll showed that, if the midterm elections had been held at the start of September, 47 per cent of Americans would have voted for Democrat candidates, and only 44 per cent for Republicans.

Surge in women registering to vote

In Pennsylvania, where a tight race between the Republican candidate, TV doctor Mehmet Oz, and Democrat John Fetterman, could ultimately decide the balance of the Senate, there has been a surge in women registering to vote.

The non-partisan election watchdog group Committee of Seventy told The Telegraph 65,000 new people had registered since the end of June.

Of those, two-thirds were women, and 55 per cent were under the age of 25.

Lauren Cristella, the organisation's chief programme officer, said the gender split among newly registering voters is usually "50/50". She said: "So this is unprecedented. There’s a stark choice on the ballot."

Patrice Martin, 61, a registered Republican in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania said she had planned to vote for Doug Mastriano, the Republican candidate in the state governor race, until she learned about his stance on abortion. Mr Mastriano has pushed for a ban after six weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions.

Mrs Martin said: "It’s terrifying to think women in Pennsylvania could overnight lose rights we’ve had for decades. I’m afraid the Republican candidate this year does not represent me."

One woman the Telegraph spoke to in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania said she had been a registered Independent voter until the Roe v. Wade decision.

Kathy, 31, who declined to give her second name, re-registered as a Democrat last month, and said some of her female friends had too.

She said: "I don’t think it’s right for politicians to make those sorts of decisions about our bodies. What is at stake is too important to sit on the fence."

Female voter registration has also surged in Wisconsin where there is a close Senate race.

Following the Supreme Court ruling the state reverted to a law from 1849 banning most abortions, and its four clinics closed.

In downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s biggest city, a giant billboard has gone up, reading: "ABORTION GONE, IS BIRTH CONTROL NEXT?"

Midterms could end up deciding Biden's future

If Democrats were to retain control of the Senate it could be enough, not only to stop Mr Biden becoming a lame duck president, but to mean he runs for re-election in 2024.

Many Democrat donors and officials have been waiting until after the results of the midterms to decide whether to back him.

Alongside the post-Roe boost for Democrats, Mr Biden’s own approval rating has risen from a dismal low of 36 per cent in July to 45 per cent now, according to an Associated Press-NORC poll.

He is still unpopular with most Americans, with the poll showing 53 per cent disapprove of his performance.

Only 38 per cent approved of Mr Biden's leadership on the economy, reinforcing Republican determination to make inflation the closing argument in the midterms.

However, one Republican strategist said that, due to the Roe v. Wade decision, the midterms "look and feel significantly different than six months ago."