Sherrill, DeGroot Use Abortion Debate To Rally Voters In NJ-11: Videos

NEW JERSEY — Women’s reproductive rights are still a hot-button issue in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District. And the two leading candidates heading into November – incumbent Rep. Mikie Sherrill and challenger Paul DeGroot – are both leaning hard on the abortion debate to rally their political bases for the 2022 mid-term election.

Some political pundits had predicted that the public’s focus would shift from abortion to other issues such as inflation and the economy as the election drew closer. But that hasn’t been the case so far in the 11th District, with Sherrill and DeGroot both calling the others’ beliefs “extremist” when it comes to abortion. (Read more below)

DeGroot earned the Republican Party nomination in the June primary election, beating out four other GOP candidates. Sherrill ran unopposed for the Democratic Party nod. A third candidate, Joseph Biasco, is running on the Libertarian Party line.

The recently redrawn 11th District includes the following municipalities:

• Essex – Belleville, Bloomfield, Cedar Grove, Fairfield, Glen Ridge, Livingston, Maplewood, Millburn, Montclair (part), North Caldwell, Nutley, Roseland, South Orange, West Caldwell
• Morris – Boonton, Boonton Township, Butler, Chatham, Chatham Township, Denville, Dover, East Hanover, Florham Park, Hanover, Harding, Jefferson, Kinnelon, Lincoln Park, Madison, Mendham Twp (part), Montville, Morris Plains, Morris Township, Morristown Town, Mountain Lakes, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Pequannock, Randolph, Riverdale, Rockaway, Rockaway Township, Victory Gardens
• Passaic – Little Falls, Totowa, Wayne (part), Woodland Park

According to a statewide summary released on Sept. 1, there were 598,927 registered voters in the 11th district, including 220,435 Democrats, 159,038 Republicans, 1,741 Libertarians and 214,258 voters not affiliated with any party.

The 2022 general election takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 8. The early voting period in New Jersey takes place from Oct. 29 to Nov. 6.

MIKIE SHERRILL CAMPAIGN: ‘DANGERS OF A WORLD WITHOUT ROE’

Fresh in the wake of a panel on women’s rights in Essex County, Sherrill’s campaign came out swinging on Thursday, releasing a digital ad that blasted DeGroot for his stances on abortion.

In the video, a local registered nurse shares her experience of a 17-year-old woman dying in her arms, the result of an illegal abortion before Roe v. Wade.

“Woman will die because of the policy that Paul DeGroot supports,” she says. “We can’t let him take us back.”

Jackie Burns, Sherrill’s campaign manager, accused DeGroot of having “no respect for a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions,” including abortions.

“Just this week we saw, once again, what happens when Roe protections are gone as West Virginia passed a severe, sweeping abortion ban,” Burns said. “Women across the country like Maxine know the dangers of a world without Roe, and Paul DeGroot’s policies will take us back to that.”

Sherrill has pointed out that she voted to pass the Women's Health Protection Act to defend women's reproductive rights and the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act to extend legal protections to Americans who utilize their constitutional freedom to travel to another state to seek an abortion. The congresswoman also voted for the Right to Contraception Act, which makes clear in federal law that individuals and married couples have the right to access contraception.

“Every woman deserves access to reproductive health services and the ability to make her own decisions about her health care,” Sherrill said. “In the face of unending attacks on reproductive freedom from extremist Republicans, including the dangerous national ban they proposed today, I will not give up the fight to protect safe abortion access, regardless of where you live.”

• See related article: Every NJ House Democrat Votes For New Abortion Rights Bills

PAUL DEGROOT CAMPAIGN: ‘I’M A DIFFERENT KIND OF REPUBLICAN’

DeGroot’s campaign battled back, sending out a press release that slammed Sherrill’s abortion stance only hours later.

The former prosecutor accused Sherrill of having far-left beliefs on abortion, a reference to her campaign’s previous pledge to “hold the House” against “extremist” Republican challengers in 2022 – whoever they may be. Read More: Mikie Sherrill Ready To Take On 'Extremist' GOP Challengers In NJ-11

DeGroot’s full statement follows below:

“We’re at a time in our country where too many politicians would prefer incendiary language over facts. This is evidenced by my opponent, Congresswoman Mikie Sherill’s blatant lies about me and my beliefs. Let me be clear about where I stand...with New Jersey. I’m no radical, I’m no extremist, and unlike the Congresswoman I’ve never been fined for a failure to disclose big money stock trading. When it comes to a woman’s right to choose, I believe in a sensible solution that aligns with the majority of North Jersey on abortion.”

“First, I am a pragmatic outsider who respects New Jersey law giving women the right to choose and supports health care access for women, allowing them to make their own health care decisions. My opponent wants you to believe that I’m trying to take away the rights of women. She can’t source her claims because they are outright lies. Nothing could be further from the truth!”

“Are there differences between her and I on abortion? Yes? She’s a radical extremist who voted to give tax dollars to a group performing partial birth abortions and dismemberment of fetuses, and who advocates for abortion through the 9th month of pregnancy.”

“Congresswoman Sherrill voted for a bill allowing late term abortion and to stop parental notification if a minor tries to have an abortion. And Congresswoman Sherrill supports chemical abortions prescribed through telemedicine that actually burn the unborn baby to death – the mother is not even in the same location as the provider when she receives drugs to end the life of her unborn child.”

“Others in my party are afraid to talk about this issue, but not me. Mike Sherrill is a radical who is out of step with a majority of New Jersey voters. She wants to use abortion as a wedge issue baked in fear, but I believe it’s a state’s rights issue. I’m a pragmatic conservative who will not vote in lock step with one party, but in lockstep with the people of New Jersey.”

“Mikie Sherrill? She votes with Nancy Pelosi 99% of the time and against New Jersey interests 100% of the time.”

“We need to stop using abortion as a tool of fear and talk about it with compassion. I respect a woman’s right to her body. I put violent criminals behind bars who committed crimes against women, men, and children. I’ve lived my life to protect people’s rights and I’ll never quit doing that work.”

“Mikie Sherrill is an extremist trying to hide her radical positions by using fear, but I will not be intimidated. I’ll talk about the issues important to New Jersey voters and never hide from my beliefs.”

“I’m a different kind of Republican who will build a big tent and bring in New Jersey families and individuals from all walks of life. Mike Sherrill has a record that is out of touch, and she can do nothing but lie when it comes to abortion to hide her dangerous views.”

• See related article: DeGroot Challenges Sherrill To Debates In NJ-11 Congress Race

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