Ads hit Republicans for selling out to Big Pharma, Big Oil, Gun Lobby, and Big Banks
In key battleground states, Democrats and their allies, as well as independent candidate Evan McMullin, are running ads hitting Republican Senate candidates for taking money from corporate special interests and working for them—not the American people.
The ads showcase how Republicans are strongly tied to big corporations like Big Pharma, oil and gas companies, Big Banks, and the gun lobby, and will put their interests ahead of working people. In particular, they underscore how Republicans are siding with the big corporations that are raising costs and price gouging working families.
In competitive Senate races, 36.6% of Democratic ads hitting Republicans have targeted them on corruption, ethics, or special interest ties.
What they’re saying
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Arizona – Ad hitting Blake Masters for handing out tax cuts to billionaires, while wanting to privatize Social Security.
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Colorado – Ad hitting Joe O’Dea for standing with the gun lobby.
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Nevada – Ad hitting Adam Laxalt for investing heavily in drug company stock and doing their bidding.
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North Carolina – Cheri Beasley hitting Ted Budd for voting against lowering prescription drug prices while pocketing tens of thousands of dollars from the pharmaceutical industry.
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Ohio – Tim Ryan hitting JD Vance for his bogus non-profit to supposedly crack down on opioid addiction but instead he hired former pharmaceutical executives for his own benefit.
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Pennsylvania – Ad hitting Dr. Oz making money off of pharmaceutical companies jacking up prices.
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Utah – Independent candidate Evan McMullin calls out Mike Lee for accepting nearly $4 million from corporate special interests including Big Oil, Big Tech, Big Banks, and Big Pharma.
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Wisconsin – Mandela Barnes hitting Ron Johnson for using his Senate seat to give a huge tax break for himself and his biggest donors.
At the same time, Democratic Senate candidates are making anti-corruption and democracy reforms a top message in their ads. They’ve highlighted their “no corporate PAC” pledges, support for banning stock trading for members of Congress, and how they are fighting corruption in Washington.
This is a very clear contrast in the 2022 election. Only Democrats support ending dark money and cracking down on Big Money special interests. Republicans want to keep the dysfunctional and corrupt system as is and have said they would do away with reforms enacted to lower prescription drug prices and invest in renewable energy.
Voters see the dominance of corporate special interests as a “threat to democracy.”
Polls show that “threats to democracy” is a top issue for voters, with an overwhelming majority attributing it to corruption.
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Times/Siena poll: A new October Times/Siena poll showed that 71% of registered voters agreed that democracy was “under threat” with voters citing “corruption” as the main factor. “Overall, 68% of registered voters said the government ‘mainly works to benefit powerful elites’ rather than ‘ordinary people.’”
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CBS News poll: A September CBS poll showed that “voters are engaged because they think the stakes are so high — for many, bigger than just affecting their pocketbooks. Two-thirds (68% of voters) feel their rights and freedoms are very much at stake in this election — more so even than say their financial well being is.”
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This followed an August CBS News poll that found 72% of Americans think democracy is under threat; 86% of those attributed it to money corrupting our system, which was the top answer among Democrats and Republicans.
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CBS reported that “perhaps related to that influence of money, there’s still a sizable number who see a threat that seems to stem from a feeling of a lack of efficacy or agency: the idea that ‘most people don’t have a say.”
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This is the choice for voters: Democrats taking on the corporate special interests and working for the American people, or Republicans working for the wealthy special interests and doing away with policies that benefit working families.
Bottom Line
Americans see the system failing them and how it impacts their daily lives, whether it’s high prescription drug costs or corporations gouging prices. Democrats need to continue to hammer Republicans’ ties to corporate special interests as part of their economic message.
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