An off-the-cuff comment about reproductive rights by Republican Bernie Moreno in Ohio’s tight Senate race has put abortion at the center of debate in the most expensive Senate campaign this year. And that’s just where Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown wanted it.

“Sadly, by the way, there’s a lot of suburban women, a lot of suburban women that are like, ‘Listen, abortion is it,’” Moreno said at a town hall in Warren County on Sept. 20. ”‘If I can’t have an abortion in this country whenever I want, I will vote for anybody else.’ OK. It’s a little crazy, by the way, but — especially for women who are like past 50, I’m thinking to myself, ‘I don’t think that’s an issue for you.’”

Brown and his allies pounced on the comment, which went to the heart of the Democrat’s bid for a fourth term representing the Republican-leaning state. A woman featured in one TV ad wondered why, if a 50-year-old woman doesn’t have standing to feel strongly about abortion, a 57-year-old man — that’s Moreno’s age — running for Senate would.