“You don’t favor a rape and incest exception?” Kelly asked.

“I have never said that, and I have never advocated that,” the candidate responded, adding that “all human life at every stage of its development is worthy of protection,” and lamenting that “future generations will look back at this history of our country and call us barbarians for murdering millions of babies…”

Rubio’s aggressive answer won over the crowd of conservatives in Cleveland — but the position he appeared to be taking is deeply unpopular nationally. One Gallup poll found that just 22% of Americans believe abortion should be illegal in cases of rape and incest. And recently, Clinton has been signaling that she plans to use women’s reproductive health care — and potentially abortion — as a wedge issue against Republicans in 2016. This week, she released a two-minute video defending Planned Parenthood, explicitly including its abortion services. She also launched an online ad campaign targeting Jeb Bush’s recent comment about women’s health.

By opposing rape and incest exceptions to abortion bans, Rubio could easily open himself up to attacks from Clinton that his positions are extreme. Perhaps recognizing this, the candidate’s aides walked back his comments in the post-debate spin room — though not entirely.