GOP group launches multimillion ad buy against House Democrats

The political nonprofit organization aligned with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is targeting two dozen House Democrats with a $7.5 million advertising buy critical of a mammoth $3.5 trillion spending package that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is trying to jam through Congress.

The American Action Network announced Wednesday plans to run advertising on digital platforms and broadcast and cable television across 24 House districts held by Democratic incumbents. The new ad campaign is hitting as Pelosi struggles to push a $3.5 trillion spending bill through a House in which Democratic infighting between liberals and centrists over components of the legislation and a separate bipartisan infrastructure package is threatening to block the party’s ability to agree on anything.

“The more we learn about this bill, the worse it gets. This bill is creating a world of problems for members in 100 different directions,” Dan Conston, the president of American Action Network, said in a statement. “Members should think long and hard before walking the plank for Pelosi when we’re only beginning to see just how toxic this bill will be back home.”

Pelosi’s effort to clear $3.5 trillion in spending through the House is being hobbled by the size of her majority: just five seats — large enough to control the floor and committees but hardly enough to govern. The legislation is a reconciliation package, meaning it is not subject to a filibuster in the Senate. But there too, it could be in trouble because Democrats only control 50 Senate seats and the bill might not have the support of all of their members.

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The American Action Network is affiliated with the Congressional Leadership Fund, a McCarthy-aligned super PAC. The group’s latest spots targeting House Democrats are tailored to the various districts they represent.

For instance, the advertisement running in the New Jersey district of centrist Rep. Josh Gottheimer warns that a vote for the $3.5 trillion Democratic spending package would betray his image as a “moderate.”

Meanwhile, the spot running in the Texas district of Rep. Lizzie Fletcher urges her to oppose the bill's "hurricane tax" (Houston recently was hit by a major storm).

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In a larger sense, what the fresh target list of 24 House Democrats from American Action Network does is reveal where Republicans believe they have the best chance of winning seats, and a 218-seat majority, in the 2022 midterm elections.

The list of Democrats targeted in the ad buy include:

• Rep. Tom O'Halleran of Arizona

• Rep. Josh Harder of California

• Rep. Stephanie Murphy of Florida

• Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux of Georgia

• Rep. Cindy Axne of Iowa

• Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas

• Rep. Jared Golden of Maine

• Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan

• Rep. Haley Stevens of Michigan

• Rep. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire

• Rep. Andy Kim of New Jersey

• Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey

• Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey

• Rep. Tom Malinowski of New Jersey

• Rep. Susie Lee of Nevada

• Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York

• Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon

• Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania

• Rep. Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania

• Rep. Lizzie Fletcher of Texas

• Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas

• Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia

• Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia

• Rep. Kim Schrier of Washington

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Tags: News, Campaigns, 2022 Elections, Advertising, Kevin McCarthy, Democratic Party, Congress, Campaign Finance, Republican Party

Original Author: David M. Drucker

Original Location: GOP group launches multimillion ad buy against House Democrats