“I feel we’re on this sort of seesaw where one party sort of gets the upper hand on social-cultural issues, then they overplay that hand,” said Christine Matthews, a moderate Virginia Republican and longtime strategist for GOP candidates. “Republicans have taken things too far.”

She warned of fueling Democratic arguments that Republicans “want to take our country back to the 1950s” and said she swore out loud after reading one antiabortion advocate’s comments that a 10-year-old rape victim, under model legislation, would have to give birth…

“It’s not a winning issue for us,” California-based GOP strategist John Thomas said of abortion. “But on the other hand, our job is to meet the electorate where they’re at. And right now they care about inflation, they care about gas prices, the economy.”…

“The vast majority of America … are not where the extreme sides are,” said Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who has the endorsement of major antiabortion groups and criticizes the stance of both Republicans and Democrats. “They want guardrails, and they want to be reasonable about it and particularly compassionate to women who’ve been wronged.”