Republican candidates tie opponents to Clinton
Democrat is mentioned in nearly 13,000 ads
Nearly 13,000 Republican political campaign commercials Jan.1 through April 24 mentioned or showed a photo of Hillary Clinton, according to data compiled for the USA TODAY Network.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – When Hillary Clinton lost her 2016 bid for the presidency, she retired from politics. In Ohio, it’s as if she never left. More than 5,000 TV commercials this year have mentioned Clinton, all in the state’s GOP primary for governor. Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor and Attorney General
Mike DeWine each claim real-Republican status, using Clinton to try to cast doubt on their opponent’s conservative credentials.
As a U.S. senator, “D.C. DeWine voted with Hillary Clinton 962 times” in six years, says one TV commercial from Taylor’s campaign.
The Senate roll-call voice then reads out “Aye” for both Clinton and DeWine on immigration, spending and gun control bills.
GOP ads around the country echo the Taylor campaign’s use of Clinton. That’s desperate, Democrats said, accusing Republicans of pointing to a defeated presidential candidate to avoid talking about their party’s short list of accomplishments since they took control of Washington.
In a GOP primary, it’s actually a smart strategy, said Jennifer Duffy, who analyzes governor and Senate races for the non-partisan Cook Political Report.
“The end goal is to taint somebody as not conservative enough, and there are limited ways to do that,” Duffy said. “If you tie them to an unpopular Democrat, that helps really hammer home that message.”
In total, nearly 13,000 TV commercials Jan. 1 through April 24 mentioned or showed a photo of Clinton, according to data compiled for the USA TODAY NETWORK by Kantar Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group.
Republicans in the Ohio governor’s race ran the most ads.
Clinton’s total tops that of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who has been mentioned in nearly 10,000 commercials in 2018.
The strategy could forecast a slew of anti-Clinton ads this fall in states President Trump won handily as Republicans try to beat back Democrats’ push to regain control of Congress. In the same way, Democrats will try to tie GOP candidates to Trump in the states where Trump’s margin was thin or where Clinton won, Duffy said.
Republican strategists said Clinton remains a polarizing figure.
Clinton proved that in March. During a trip to India, the former Democratic nominee said she won parts of the USA that were more economically vibrant, while Trump won in the Midwest and other places by appealing to voters who want to move “backwards.”
“His whole campaign — ‘Make America Great Again’ — was looking backwards,” Clinton said in response to a question about how Trump won. “You know, you didn’t like black people getting rights, you don’t like women, you know, getting jobs, you don’t want, you know, to see that Indian American succeeding more than you are.”
National Republicans pounced on Clinton’s comments. The GOP’s Senate campaign committee launched a digital ad campaign targeting 10 Senate Democrats in states that Trump won with spots reminding voters of the lawmakers’ support for Clinton.
“She called you ‘deplorable,’ ” one spot reminded voters in Missouri. “Now she’s called you ‘backwards.’ … And if Claire McCaskill had her way, Hillary Clinton would be president.”
McCaskill is one of the most vulnerable incumbent Senate Democrats up for re-election this year, running in Missouri, where Trump won by 19 percentage points.
“Whenever (Clinton) inserts herself into the conversation and continues to make comments that Trump voters are backwards or deplorable, it’s a reminder to folks in red states that supported him that your sitting senator sided with her over the president you voted for,” said Katie Martin, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Democrats said the GOP has nothing else to talk about as Republicans try to maintain their grip on power.
“It’s obvious that Republicans are desperate,” said David Bergstein, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The GOP tax cut isn’t as popular as Republicans hoped, he said, and they haven’t accomplished much else.