Nikki Haley, Tim Scott and other Republican hopefuls clash over abortion during GOP debate

Republican presidential candidates split on supporting federal abortion restrictions Wednesday during the third GOP primary debate.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who had been relatively quiet on the issue leading up to the third debate, spoke out in support of a 15-week federal abortion ban, instead of allowing the issue to be decided by individual states.

Scott went head-to-head with fellow South Carolinian and former Gov. Nikki Haley, who reiterated her stance that passing a national measure would be unrealistic under today’s divided Congress.

“I will sign anything where we can get 60 Senate votes, but don’t make the American people think that you’re going to push something on them when we don’t even have the votes in the Senate,” said Haley, who has described herself as “unapologetically pro-life.”

Scott and Haley’s sparring comes less than 24 hours after Republicans were left grappling for an effective abortion message after 2023's off-year elections.

Voters in Ohio passed a constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion access by a double-digit margin. Meanwhile in other states, including Virginia and Kentucky, Democrats sailed to victory by campaigning on abortion for months leading up to election night.

Vivek Ramaswamy, a native Ohioan, told CNN after the vote was called that the “lost battle” was a sign to the Republican Party.

“Our pro-life movement, and I am part of it, needs to be better about the way we discuss this issue,” Ramaswamy said Tuesday.

On the debate stage, Ramaswamy said again he was left disappointed by his home state’s results and pointed his finger at the national party.

“It’s back to that Republican culture of losing,” Ramaswamy said in the debate. “The Republicans did not have an alternative amendment or vision on the table.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Scott, Haley and Republican hopefuls clash over abortion in GOP debate