Ronna McDaniel, the outgoing chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, warned Republicans not to ignore abortion ahead of November if they want to appeal to independent and swing voters.

“We cannot put our heads in the sand and ignore abortion and the Dobbs decision,” McDaniel said in her final speech. “Many of our candidates chose to ignore this issue and not talk about it.”

The comments come after President Joe Biden scolded Republicans and the U.S. Supreme Court for abortion restrictions in his 2024 State of the Union address.

In 2022, McDaniel released a detailed memo outlining ideas about how Republicans should approach abortion in campaigns. 

“I’m a suburban mom. I might have some opinions on this issue,” she said.

She advised Republicans to support abortion measures that include “exceptions and reasonable limitations when a baby feels pain.”

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In many swing and Red states, complete abortion bans have become a tricky issue for Republicans to rally votes behind. Following the Dobbs decision, voters in Kansas, Michigan, and Ohio voted to protect abortion rights in their states. In Kentucky, voters blocked an amendment to their state’s constitution that would have denied any constitutional protections for an abortion.

McDaniel announced last month that she was stepping from the RNC on March 8. She was replaced by former North Carolina GOP chairman Michael Whatley and Lara Trump, former President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law.