NARAL targets endangered Senate Republicans on abortion ban for trafficking victims

NARAL is diving into the ongoing Senate fight over Republicans trying to put an anti-abortion provision in a human trafficking bill, releasing a poll and an ad targeting Republicans facing tough 2016 re-election fights. The ads (look below the fold for an example) will run on Fox, MSNBC, and CNN in Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Illinois, and North Carolina, targeting Sens. Ron Johnson, Kelly Ayotte, Mark Kirk, and Richard Burr, respectively.

According to the poll, conducted by Civis Analytics:

• A majority (60-75%) of voters will be less likely to vote for their Senator if they vote in favor of the provision restricting access to abortions for victims of human trafficking.
• Focusing on restricting abortion within the context of a bill about human trafficking is broadly unpopular.
• A clear majority (70-80%) of voters in these states support legal abortion.

What's more, Senate Republicans have been holding up the nomination of Loretta Lynch as attorney general over this issue, so it's really a two-fer. Kirk has recently said he'd support Lynch, which may allow her nomination to move forward, but the rest of the senators targeted by NARAL are now taking two bad positions at once. And it's not hard to imagine the ads on this voters will see during campaign season.