American Action Network drops $4.5M in ads attacking Democrats on reconciliation bill

A top conservative group is dropping another $4.5 million on ads trying to saddle 15 House Democratic incumbents with potentially toxic portions of the reconciliation bill.

The majority of the new spots from the American Action Network accuse Democrats of cronyism, warning that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is using the proposed social spending plan to pad the pockets of the elite at the expense of average Americans.

The group, the nonprofit affiliated with House Republicans' chief super PAC, first honed this message earlier this month in an ad campaign against Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), and the expansion is sign they think they’ve landed on the best way to message on the legislation.

It remains on TV in Golden’s rural Maine seat, but AAN is expanding the campaign to include markets covering the current or future districts of Reps. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa), Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.), Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), Josh Harder (D-Calif.), Susie Lee (D-Nev.), Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), Tom O'Halleran (D-Ariz.), Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.).

In the 30-second ad, a narrator warns that “D.C. liberals spend your money but take care of themselves” in a “cynical Washington game.” Democrats’ $3.5 trillion package, per the ad, includes $200 million for a park in Pelosi’s San Francisco district; tax breaks for “Hollywood, the media, elite liberal universities," but it forces a tax hike on small businesses.

AAN is also up with a different ad with slightly different messages in the districts of Reps. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) and Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Ga.). That spot features an older citizen decrying inflation and warning that Pelosi’s “socialist agenda” would raise taxes and “be devastating to seniors like me.”

The group is also on air in the district of Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) with an updated version of their spot accusing him of caving to Pelosi on his demands for a swift vote on infrastructure.

Democrats are trying to build consensus around a roughly $2 trillion social spending plan, and they hope to pass it before the end of the month. The GOP, meanwhile, is eager to convince voters that the bill is too costly as part of their midterm strategy.