Blake Masters says he won’t apologize for abortion stance after campaign website scrubbing
Aug 26, 2022, 1:00 PM
PHOENIX — Republican U.S. Sen. candidate Blake Masters won’t apologize for his stance on abortion after his campaign website was scrubbed of tough rhetoric surrounding the issue.
NBC News reported Thursday that Masters’ website got rid of some strong language on abortion, including a line that he was “100% pro life” and another that showed his support for “a federal personhood law (ideally a Constitutional amendment) that recognizes that unborn babies are human beings that may not be killed.”
“Go read the website. It is the most detailed, most pro-life agenda of any Senate candidate nationwide,” Masters told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Friday.
Masters has softened the harder edges of his confrontational style and moved toward the center on key issues since emerging atop a crowded GOP field in this month’s primary.
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He said he’s been going on the attack to clarify his abortion stance with the general election against Democrat Mark Kelly about two months away.
The Republican posted an ad on Twitter on Thursday that said he supported commonsense regulation around abortion.
Masters also said Kelly’s abortion views were extreme, takes he has since added to his website.
Kelly called the June Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade “a giant step backward for our country.”
“I added some language to [the website] that points out Mark Kelly calls me a pro-life extremist and I’m pro-life, I don’t make apologies for that,” Masters said.
“But I added some language to call him out, actually, that they’re lying about me and my position because they’re the extremists.”
Masters said that while he is glad the U.S. Supreme Court gave states authority over abortion regulations, he thinks the federal government should get involved to some extent.
“What I’m going to focus on in the U.S. Senate is getting a ban on partial-birth and third-trimester abortions,” he said. “It’s like 80, 90% of Americans agree we shouldn’t be aborting babies at seven, eight, nine months. And so let’s get that done.
“I understand that that’s not enough for many people. But let’s get that done. So now I’m taking heat from all sides, but you know what, I just think that’s the right thing to do.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
