How Republicans’ votes on the Violence Against Women Act have become a sticking point in the 2024 elections

In a recent campaign ad for Rep. Michelle Steel, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes praises the Republican House member for standing up for women, notably victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

“Crime against any woman is an affront to assault,” Barnes said, looking right into the camera. “That’s why Michelle Steel has worked tirelessly to protect victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse.”

In the ad titled “Champion,” a woman’s voice then says Steel voted to stop violence against women.

The Violence Against Women Act — particularly how Republicans have voted on it — has become a flashpoint in the 2024 election cycle, especially in the closely watched races for California’s 27th and 45th congressional districts. The landmark legislation first signed into law in 1994 addresses violence against women through federal funding for shelters, legal services and other support for victims of domestic and sexual violence.

In an ad released earlier this month, a woman says Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, “co-sponsored the Violence Against Women Act to protect us against domestic violence.”

But Democrats say the recent ads from Steel and Garcia touting their support for VAWA are deceptive and mislead voters given how they’ve voted when it’s been time to renew the federal law.

Neither Garcia’s nor Steel’s voting record on VAWA is consistent — they’ve voted against certain versions of the legislation and in support of others.

Garcia and Steel opposed legislation to reauthorize VAWA in 2021. That version also sought to expand protections for members of the LGBTQ+ community and strengthen existing gun laws to prohibit anyone convicted of stalking and domestic abuse from owning guns, known as the “boyfriend loophole.”

While the legislation passed the House, it stalled thereafter. After months of negotiations, the Senate reached an agreement in February 2022. The amended VAWA reauthorization shed the “boyfriend loophole” language and was tacked onto a large spending bill, which Steel and Garcia supported. It was signed into law by President Joe Biden in March 2022.

The pair also co-sponsored an alternative Republican-led measure in 2021 to extend VAWA for a year without the new provisions, but that measure did not advance.

Campaigns are predictably framing those votes to benefit their candidates.

“When it comes to protecting women the facts are clear. While Michelle Steel voted for the Violence Against Women Act and is endorsed by multiple law enforcement organizations, Derek Tran represented an alleged rapist and blamed the female victims for his clients’ behavior,” said Lance Trover, Steel’s spokesperson, alluding to Steel’s Democratic opponent and his past legal work representing someone accused of sexual assault.

On Sept. 13, the 30th anniversary of VAWA, the campaign for Garcia’s Democratic opponent George Whitesides said in a Facebook post: “Congressman Mike Garcia voted against it in 2021 and he’s lying to voters in our district. He should take down his deceptive ad and be honest. We need a (representative) who supports common-sense laws like VAWA.”

Garcia’s campaign did not respond to messages seeking comment for this story.

Further inland, in California’s 41st congressional district, Democrats are running an ad slamming Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, for voting against the original VAWA legislation in 1994 and twice against reauthorizing it in 2019 and 2021.

But like Garcia and Steel, Calvert co-sponsored the alternative Republican-led measure in 2021 to extend VAWA for a year without new provisions and voted in support of the amended measure Biden later signed into law.

It isn’t surprising that campaigns, especially in battleground districts, are looking for ways to build a larger base of support among women voters who tend to vote for Democrats more than men, said Jon Gould, dean of the UCI School of Social Ecology.

And the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 also made women’s bodily integrity a more salient issue to many women voters, said Gould.

“Democrats — and I think they are correct here — if they can tie Republicans to decisions that are not respectful to women … they have a winning combination,” Gould said. “They’re going into anything that looks like a candidate may not be supportive of issues that apply primarily to women.”

Case in point: a new ad from Derek Tran, Steel’s Democratic opponent, that hit the airwaves this week. That ad attacks Steel’s record of twice co-sponsoring anti-abortion legislation, most recently in January, which would have placed restrictions on in vitro fertilization and granted constitutional protection to embryos at “the moment of fertilization, cloning or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.”

But that ad doesn’t mention that Steel withdrew her co-sponsorship of the anti-abortion bill in March, saying she does not support federal restrictions on IVF, which she’s publicly talked about using to start her family.

Messaging on VAWA and other gender-based issues could tip the scale in favor of Democrats in already contentious seats, like CA-27 and CA-45, in particular, said Sara Sadhwani, an assistant professor of politics at Pomona College.

“Both are purple districts. Both are districts Biden won in 2020 and so this is absolutely an opportunity for Democrats to push the narrative that helped them gain ground in 2022 now in an election year when turnout is anticipated to be much higher,” said Sadhwani, who specializes in voter behavior.

The 45th congressional district encompasses Orange County and a portion of Los Angeles County and includes Buena Park, Garden Grove, Fountain Valley, Westminster and Artesia.

There, election forecasts have begun to swing toward being more favorable for Democrats. Earlier this month, election analyst Cook Political Report changed its rating of the race from “lean Republican” to “Republican toss up,” and Inside Elections, a newsletter that provides campaign analysis, also recently changed its rating of the race from “lean Republican” to “tilt Republican.”

The race in Los Angeles County’s CA-27, which includes Lancaster and Santa Clarita, is also rated “Republican toss up” by Cook Political Report and “toss up” by Inside Elections.