Democrats have been hammering GOP candidates on abortion since the fall of Roe v. Wade. That’s left some Republicans scrambling to try to figure out how to soften the blow.

A number of Republicans are trying to avoid political fallout from the Dobbs decision by quietly deemphasizing their past position on abortion on campaign websites and on the trail. Another handful of GOP candidates — especially those in contests in states that are more of a reach for the party — have gone up with TV ads looking to counter Democrats’ attacks on abortion.

Among the earliest Republicans pushing back on the issue on TV was Mark Ronchetti, a one-time TV meteorologist who is challenging Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in New Mexico this year, after losing a close race for the state’s open Senate seat two years ago.

“I’m personally pro-life, but I believe we can all come together on a policy that reflects our shared values,” Ronchetti says in the ad, saying that Lujan Grisham was “extreme” on abortion. “We can end late-term abortion, while protecting access to contraception and health care.”

Ads like this are coming as Democratic groups have poured tens of millions into TV campaigns focused on abortion — including making it a central theme that boosted Democratic Rep.-elect Pat Ryan to victory last week in a closely watched special election.

Ronchetti aired his ad for about two weeks in mid-July, spending $60,000 on it, according to data from the ad tracking firm AdImpact. On the day the Supreme Court issued its Dobbs decision, Ronchetti put out a statement saying he believed permitting abortion up to 15 weeks — along with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother afterward — was “a very reasonable position that most in New Mexico will support regardless of party affiliation.”

Republican Mark Ronchetti reacts with his supporters after winning the Republican primary for governor of New Mexico during an election party held at the Marriott in northeast Albuquerque, N.M., on June 7, 2022.