Is 2024 the year of the ‘girl dad’ candidate?

Daniela Altimari | (TNS) CQ-Roll Call

As he seeks to flip a competitive House district in Southern California, Republican Matt Gunderson is leaning into his identity as a "girl dad" to convince voters that he backs abortion rights.

"I don't want politicians dictating health care for my daughters," Gunderson says in a new ad – his first of the cycle – asserting that he believes abortion should be "safe, legal and rare."

Gunderson, who is running against Democratic Rep. Mike Levin, said in an interview that being the father of four daughters, ages 18 to 23, has shaped his thinking on several key issues.

"When you do have four young adult women in your world, you are concerned about how government impacts their lives in every single way,'' he said, "whether it's [abortion], or...this incredible debt that we're piling on these generations and or the crime on the streets, or what open borders are doing to their opportunities and their quality of their life."

Gunderson, who is running in a district covering southern Orange and northern San Diego counties, isn't the only GOP candidate centering his role as the father of daughters.

While none of the ads specifically deploy the phrase "girl dad'' — which has become shorthand for a father's pride in his daughter's achievements and a way to signify that he values gender equality – the message of female empowerment is clear.

And it's not exclusive to Republicans: in a speech at the Democratic National Convention last month, Ashley Biden, President Joe Biden's 43-year-old daughter, deployed the phrase with a gangsta modifier, calling him "the OG girl dad" who "told me I could be anything and I could do anything."

'Know how to listen'

In Pennsylvania, Dave McCormick, who is running against Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in a race that could determine the balance of power in the chamber, is airing an ad that stars his wife, Dina McCormick, and alludes to their six daughters.

In the ad, which does not mention abortion, McCormick says being the only male in the household has taught him to be a better listener. "In Washington, we need more people who know how to listen, not just argue,'' he said.

And in Maryland, GOP Senate candidate and former Gov. Larry Hogan enlisted his three daughters to make the case that he would push to codify abortion rights into law if he wins the open seat. The ad also features Hogan's four young granddaughters.

"When Larry Hogan married my mom, he became a father to three strong, independent women, and he gained our trust,'' Hogan's daughter, Jaymi Sterling, said. "Now, once again, they're attacking him as anti-women. Nothing could be further from the truth."

'Representation by proxy'

Embracing the girl dad mantle is a way for Republican candidates to soften their image on abortion and other polarizing issues, said Erin C. Cassese, a professor of political science at the University of Delaware.

"It's kind of like representation by proxy. Hogan's daughters and granddaughters are standing up to support him and argue that he represents them," she said. "It's a very different kind of messaging on gender and parenthood than what we're seeing from [GOP vice presidential nominee] JD Vance."

Polls in the presidential race have shown a marked gender gap between supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, and recent history has seen a significant drop in voters who back one party for president and another for Congress.

A Suffolk University/USA Today poll of likely voters in Pennsylvania taken Sept. 11-15, for example, found Harris leading among women 56 percent to 39 percent. The same polls showed women prefer Casey over McCormick in the Senate race, 51 percent to 39 percent.

Abortion has proven to be an especially vexing issue for GOP candidates running for Congress since national protections were taken away when the Roe v. Wade precedent was overturned in 2022. As governor, Hogan, who is running against Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, a Democrat, vetoed a measure that would have permitted nurse practitioners and physician assistants to perform abortions.

Gunderson opposed a 2022 California ballot question that enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution. At a Republican event in January, he called the vote "disgusting," according to a recording first reported by NOTUS.

'Attempt to mislead'

"Their records are so clear....and that's something they can't get away from no matter who they put in front of the camera,'' said Yari Aquino, director of campaign communications for EMILY's List, which backs Democratic women who support abortion rights and has endorsed Alsobrooks.

"The reality is, women are already seeing the consequences in states across the country where the Republican abortion ban is going into place, so this attempt to mislead voters with emotional pleas from family members is not going to track the same as their scary track records will," Aquino said.

Gunderson has sought to frame his support for abortion rights in terms Democrats employed during the administration of President Bill Clinton, three decades ago.

"My position on abortion and the perspective that it should be 'safe, legal and rare' can be documented back to 1994 so you know that predates my being married, and certainly predates my children,'' Gunderson said. "And so I can't say that having four daughters dictated my position on this issue [because] it hasn't changed."

But Democrats say Gunderson and other GOP candidates are now walking back their opposition to abortion rights because such stances have become politically unpopular since Roe was overturned.

"Every single so-called moderate House Republican has voted to restrict reproductive freedom — pushing an extreme agenda that endangers the health of millions of women,'' said Rep. Suzan DelBene, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "Now that they've realized it's a losing issue for them, they're desperately attempting to cover up their extreme record from the voters they seek to represent."

Levin, who is seeking his fourth term and running in a race rated Likely Democratic by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales, echoed DelBene's view as far as Gunderson is concerned.

"My opponent has not been consistent or truthful in his stance on abortion...[he's] just throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks," Levin said in a statement. "The only thing that's going to stick is that he's trying to deceive voters."