Alison Esposito, a GOP congressional candidate in New York, claimed abortion rights were “not even a factor” in her race during a recent interview with NBC News’ Ali Vitali that aired Wednesday.
But the claim from the Republican, who lists abortion among “key issues” on her campaign website, would soon be proven wrong by one of her supporters.
“If I had a magic wand and I could fix something day one, what do you think is the biggest issue right now facing, you know, the American public? What would you like to see fixed first?” she asked the man as they spoke in front of his door.
“I would like to see a timeline on abortion,” replied the man, who said he doesn’t think you should deny people abortions altogether before suggesting they not go forward after four months.
He continued, “If you don’t know by then and you haven’t decided on, adoption.”
The clip then turned to Vitali talking to Esposito as they left the home.
“See but that’s funny like we were saying abortion doesn’t come up, he cares,” Vitali said.
“So funny,” Esposito said.
“Might not be what we thought he was gonna say,” Vitali added.
“No but that’s not usually the top issue but, you know what, it is still an issue on people’s minds,” said Esposito, whose opponent Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) campaigned heavily in support of abortion rights before his 2022 special election win.
Recent polling by Newsweek shows that it’s a “second most-important issue” for voters while a separate poll found it’s especially important among women under 30.
There are 11 abortion referendums across 10 states, including one in New York, on Election Day this year.
You can catch the clip and an MSNBC discussion on how abortion rights factor into this year’s election below.