Pro-Life Candidates Defeat Abortion Backers in Delaware, New Hampshire

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Sep 15, 2010   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Pro-Life Candidates Defeat Abortion Backers in Delaware, New Hampshire

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 15
, 2010

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Delaware pro-life Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell surprised political pundits Tuesday night by defeating Republican Senate candidate Mike Castle, a longtime pro-abortion congressman whose pro-abortion and pro-embryonic stem cell research funding views clashed with O’Donnell’s.

With 86 percent of the Delaware precincts counted, O’Donnell defeated Castle 54 percent to 46 percent.

Now O’Donnell will face pro-abortion Democratic candidate Chris Coons, but the concern for pro-life advocates is getting O’Donnell’s numbers back up following a divisive primary because the latest polls show her losing to Coons.

A survey last week from Rasmussen Reports showed Coons leads O’Donnell by a 47% to 36% margin. Given that matchup, eight percent (8%) preferred another candidate, while nine percent (9%) were undecided.

The Susan B. Anthony List, which endorsed O’Donnell, celebrated her victory and urged pro-life advocates to rally around her in the remaining weeks leading up to the general election.

“Christine O’Donnell’s win, combined with the successes of Carly Fiorina and Sharron Angle, continues building momentum for 2010 to be remembered as the ‘Year of the Pro-life Woman,” SBA List president Marjorie Dannenfelser told LifeNews.com. “Christine O’Donnell’s come-from-behind victory is evidence that voters across America are hungry for conservative pro-life candidates.”
Meanwhile, in the New Hampshire Republican Senate primary, two pro-life candidates are separated by less than one percent in their bid to keep the seat of Republican Sen. Judd Gregg, who is pro-life.

With 85 percent of precincts reporting, former state attorney general Kelly Ayotte held less than a one-point lead over businessman Ovid Lamontagne and is leading 38.2 percent to 37.4. The Associated Press indicates fewer than 1,000 votes separated the two with 257 of 301 precincts reporting.

Polls leading into Tuesday’s primary showed Ayotte with a strong lead, but some conservatives began rallying around Lamontagne at the last minute. They faced pro-abortion businessman Bill Binnie who made no secret of his support for legalized abortion.

Ayotte had the backing of pro-life groups — including National Right to Life, the Susan B. Anthony List, and New Hampshire Citizens for Life.

The winner will face pro-abortion Rep. Paul Hodes in November in what will be a hard fought contest.

If Ayotte holds on to the small lead and becomes the nominee, that will add another pro-life woman to the list of Senate and House candidates — good news for Dannenfelser’s group.

“In all human rights battles, the messenger matters. As the late pro-life champion Rep. Henry Hyde once told me, it is absolutely vital that we have women in Congress standing up for the truth that abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women," the SBA List leader told LifeNews.com. "But with no pro-life women currently in the Senate, Barbara Boxer goes unchallenged telling our pro-life men they can’t speak for women.”

“That will change in the Senate this November when authentic pro-life women leaders like Christine O’Donnell are elected. Her victory is part of a new pro-life women’s movement making its way to the U.S. Senate," she said. "While her primary opponent held an explicitly pro-abortion voting record, O’Donnell expressed her strong determination to be a vocal advocate for women and unborn children on the floor of the U.S. Senate, a stance which clearly made a difference at the ballot box.”

Related web sites:
Susan B. Anthony List – https://www.sba-list.org

 

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