Mitt Romney Used Poll To Determine His Abortion Stance In 1994 Campaign [View all]

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/30/mitt-romney-abortion-1994-senate_n_1176385.html?ref=politics&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008

When he challenged Ted Kennedy in the 1994 U.S. Senate race, Mitt Romney used polling data to determine that he would run as a pro-choice candidate while remaining personally pro-life, according to a new book by Boston journalist Ronald Scott.

The Washington Examiner revealed the moment in Scott's book:
http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/article/york-romney-briefed-church-abortion-stance/282721

According to Scott, Romney revealed that polling from Richard Wirthlin, Ronald Reagan's former pollster whom Romney had hired for the '94 campaign, showed it would be impossible for a pro-life candidate to win statewide office in Massachusetts. In light of that, Romney decided to run as a pro-choice candidate, pledging to support Roe v. Wade, while remaining personally pro-life.

(snip)
Sen. Kennedy seized on his stance: "On the question of the choice issue, I have supported the Roe v. Wade. I am pro-choice. My opponent is multiple choice."



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