In bids to flip GOP House seats, one ad stands out
Video avoids harping on Trump, instead blasting congressman’s bank-friendly vote.
For many California Democrats hoping to defeat Republican incumbents in the House next year, the tone is shaping up to be pretty anti-Trump, with some early ads tying GOP members to the president.
But Fight Back California, a political action committee headed by former congresswoman and Obama administration official Ellen Tauscher, is using a different tactic in its first ad against Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock), one of seven GOP members the group is hoping to defeat.
The ad, titled “Jeff Denham Sold Us Out,” skewers the four-term Republican for his vote in favor of a measure that would loosen restrictions on the banking industry. The measure, known as the Financial Choice Act of 2017, would repeal key provisions of the Dodd-Frank banking reforms of 2010. It was passed along party lines in the House but is awaiting action in the Senate.
Denham’s Central Valley district was one of the hardest hit in the mortgage foreclosure crisis.
In a statement, Denham campaign strategist Dave Gilliard called the ad “false and misleading” and said that it “will not fool voters in the 10th District, who know Jeff Denham shares their values.”
Unlike many early ads being released against GOP incumbents, the ad doesn’t show or mention President Trump.
Katie Merrill, a political consultant who’s serving as Fight Back California’s strategist, said that’s deliberate.
“We’ve done very indepth research into [Denham’s district], and what voters care about there are local issues,” Merrill said. “They’re very worried about the economy and jobs and water and crime .... They’re not interested in Russia.”
Merrill said the video is part of a “significant” digital ad buy that includes other online ads, but she did not disclose how much the group is spending. Fight Back California says it plans to spend $10 million in Republican-held districts, working out to about $1.4 million in each of the seven on which it’s focusing.
Other Republican lawmakers the group hopes to help defeat are Reps. David Valadao of Hanford, Steve Knight of Palmdale, Ed Royce of Fullerton, Mimi Walters of Irvine, Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa and Darrell Issa of Vista.
Merrill said Fight Back California plans to tailor advertising and ground campaigns based on issues that voters in each district care about.