The House Democrats’ campaign arm is launching a new effort to link vulnerable New York Republicans to Rep. George Santos, with Democrats betting that the freshman congressman will be a major liability for the GOP in key swing districts next year.
Beginning on Monday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is rolling out a five-figure billboard campaign targeting five freshman Republicans who took donations from Santos: New York Reps. Nick LaLota, Anthony D’Esposito, Mike Lawler, Marc Molinaro and Brandon Williams, all of whom helped Republicans win a narrow majority last fall by winning seats that President Joe Biden had carried.
Molinaro and D’Esposito both returned the money from Santos after a number of his financial issues came to light, but the billboards in their districts ask why the lawmakers took campaign cash from “a fraudster” in the first place. The other three billboards, which feature a picture of Santos and the lawmaker, ask whether the members will return the campaign donations.
All five Republicans have sought to distance themselves from Santos, becoming some of the loudest voices in the party to condemn him or call on him to resign. Still, Democrats see an opening to tie these GOP freshmen to Santos.
The weeks-long campaign, the details of which were first shared with CNN, comes unusually early in the cycle, and is a sign that Democrats plan to make a serious effort to reverse their midterm losses in the Empire State. While Democrats were able to stave off an anticipated red wave in many parts of the country, New York was an exception. Republicans there effectively ran on the issue of crime and flipped a number of competitive House seats, which will be top targets for Democrats as they look to win back power in 2024.
“New Yorkers want Santos out of office, and these congressmen’s meaningless words aren’t enough…
Read the full article here