Pro-life Democrat abandoned by party loses mayoral race

A pro-life Democrat reviled by his own party lost his bid to become Omaha’s next mayor last night in a closely watched race that highlighted the national debate over abortion. Heath Mello is a 37-year-old Catholic from Omaha’s working-class south side who branded himself as a next-generation Democrat. His platform focused on economic opportunity, borrowing from some Republican ideas like public-private partnerships. He even won an endorsement from former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who told voters Mello would bring a “political revolution.” But the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League slammed Mello, and the national party eventually retracted its support. Democratic committee chairman Tom Perez concluded “every Democrat, like every American, should support a woman’s right to make her own choices,” setting up what critics called a pro-abortion “litmus test” for party members. After Mello’s loss, Nebraska Democratic Party Chairwoman Jane Kleeb called the DNC’s position “astounding.” According to a January CBS News poll, about 15 percent of Democrats across the nation believe abortion should be illegal.