In 2020, Tyler Kistner’s website described him as “100% pro-life” – he has since removed any mention of abortion from his website
Burnsville, MN – GOP congressional candidate Tyler Kistner declared himself “100% pro-life” during the 2020 campaign cycle. Since then, that language and any mention of abortion have been scrubbed from his website.
Kistner’s clumsy attempt to hide his anti-choice views is part of a national trend of Republican candidates attempting to cover up previous extremist statements they worry will hurt their chances of victory in a post-Roe political environment.
- Politico: Republicans fight abortion backlash with ads — and stealth website edits
- CNN: Some Republicans try to shift positions on abortion as general election approaches
- Axios: The big scrub
- Washington Post: Republicans in key races scrap online references to Trump, abortion
On June 23, 2022, Kistner told the Star Tribune he felt abortion rights should be “left at the states to decide.” One day later he got his wish. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing states to pass increasingly extreme abortion restrictions, one in three American women have lost abortion access.
Earlier this week when pushed on his “100% pro-life” statements, Kistner avoided answering questions about his beliefs and instead tried to shift focus to Rep. Angie Craig’s abortion rights stance. Rep. Craig is a strong defender of a woman’s right to choose, pushing in Congress to restore Roe and ensure the government can not interfere in a woman’s health care decisions.
“In the 69 days since Roe was overturned, we’ve heard it all from Tyler Kistner, but voters are still waiting for him to own up to his ‘100% pro-life’ views. Instead, he’s deleting language from his website and refusing to answer questions from the media. Minnesotans deserve a representative who stands firm in their beliefs, not one who tries to mislead them,” said Angie Craig for Congress campaign manager Wellesley Daniels.
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