The Democratic Attorneys General Association became the first committee of a national party to establish support for abortion as a LITMUS test required to receive candidate funding from the group. The New York Times reported Monday that the group "will refuse to endorse anyone who does not support reproductive rights and expanding access to abortion services."
"The group, the Democratic Attorneys General Association, recruits candidates and helps their campaigns with financial support, data analysis, messaging and policy positions," the NYT reports. But, in order to get their backing, candidates must publicly declare their support for abortion.
"State attorneys general are now on the map as taking the lead when it comes to Democratic values,” Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum of Oregon, a co-chair of the committee, told the paper. "We are going to be the ones to be right out in front and hopefully the other committees will follow right along."
But, other Democrats like former Senator Heidi Heitkamp criticized the move.
"There are very principled people, who are Democrats, who feel very strongly about this issue for religious reasons and when you say you’re not welcome in our party I think it is exclusionary," Heitkamp said. “You have to look at the totality of a candidate."
The Republican Attorneys General Association issued a statement condemning DAGA for their LITMUS test.
"The only litmus test for an attorney general should be a belief in the rule of law and the courage to defend and uphold the constitution. The Democrats demonstrated once again how out of touch and desperate they are to receive funding from dangerously progressive special interest groups who support using hard-earned taxpayer dollars to fund late-term and third trimester abortions," RAGA said.
"Following a clean sweep of wins in 2019, Republicans have outstanding momentum going into 2020. While RAGA is focused on winning elections and the hearts and minds of voters, DAGA is focused on disregarding the rule of law and folding to the demands of extreme special interest groups," the group added.