The strategy has been described as “cynical” by some political operatives, while others believe the promotion of candidates will ultimately turn off voters at the polls in November. Political groups and nonprofits aligned with the Democratic Party have already spent nearly $44 million on ad campaigns in five states — California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Maryland — to boost the profile of some right-wing candidates. Ahead of the Pennsylvania gubernatorial primary, Democrat Josh Shapiro has begun running an ad highlighting state Sen. Doug Mastriano’s conservative views. Mr Mastriano is an anti-abortionist who has been accused of having links to an anti-Semitic far-right group. He said this week that he rejects anti-Semitism “in any form”. He is also a supporter of Mr. Trump’s false stolen election claims. Observers argued that Mr. Shapiro was trying to tip the scales in favor of Mr. Mastriano on the theory that he would be easier to defeat than one of the more traditional Republican candidates seeking their party’s nomination for governor.
“Send him a thank you card”
The $840,000 Mr. Shapiro paid for ads was more than double what Mr. Mastriano — who ultimately beat his more moderate opponent by 23 points — spent. “I should send him a thank you card,” she said, after seeing Mr. Shapiro’s ads. In Illinois, Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker and the Democratic Governors Association spent $35 million on ads trying to influence the Illinois Republican primary — more than any office is believed to have ever spent to interfere in another party’s primary — putting on track for the Illinois governor’s race to be the most expensive non-presidential election in US history. Meanwhile, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) paid $425,000 for a TV ad boosting a challenger to Rep. Peter Meijer, one of 10 House Republicans who voted against his party to impeach Trump last year. When Sean Patrick Maloney, chairman of the DCCC, was asked about the GOP primary meddling, he told MSNBC, “I think you might see us do that, for sure.” A new poll shows that the Democrats’ strategy of promoting pro-Trump candidates like Mr. Mastriano to turn off potential voters is working. The 58-year-old retired colonel is now in charge.
