READ: House passes abortion measure
The scramble over the bill behind closed doors was the latest in a series of conflicts within the caucus, and again underscored the challenge facing the GOP as they head into a presidential election year: How to expand the party’s appeal with untapped demographic groups, while still appeasing their conservative base.
That was the concern raised by Rep. Renee Ellmers, the North Carolina Republican who, along with a group of GOP women and centrists in the party, led the successful effort to get the bill pulled.
“The first vote we take, or the second vote, or the fifth vote, shouldn’t be on an issue where we know that millennials—social issues just aren’t as important [to them],” she told National Journal last week.
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“I’m disappointed,” he said, “but leadership is just doing what good leadership does — which is listen to its members and try to work out a bill that is acceptable to the most within the caucus.”
And few dozen protesters, mostly college students and older activists, gathered outside Ellmers’ office after the march to express their frustration with her move. One, Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins, called Ellmers a “coward” for previously supporting a similar bill, before working to block this one.
But asked whether candidates should run on the abortion issue if they hope to appeal to millennials, she demurred.
“Obviously, there are a ton of important issues that millennials care about…but I think they shouldn’t shy away from it,” she said.
