Republicans Struggle to Find 1 Effective Midterm Foil as $20 Million Anti-Socialism Push Loses Punch
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Oct 3
Republicans Struggle to Find 1 Effective Midterm Foil as $20 Million Anti-Socialism Push Loses Punch
1 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Oct 3
Summary
Republicans are entering the midterms without a clear villain to rally around, even as they keep trying to tie Democratic candidates to progressives, socialism or communism.
A $20 million DHS-funded ad blitz launched this week shows the fallback strategy: Trump denouncing “communism, socialism, and Marxism” in a national campaign-style message.
That line of attack is proving uneven. GOP candidates and outside groups have linked Democrats to figures such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, and in some races invoked them despite no endorsement or direct tie.
Zohran Mamdani has also become a less useful target after his first year as New York City mayor lifted his standing with voters, while Trump last week said he hoped Mamdani would “be a great mayor.”
GOP pollster Matt Towery said simply branding opponents “socialist” no longer carries the shock value it once did unless Republicans can tie specific policies to a candidate.