WASHINGTON — House Republicans’ campaign arm is launching a digital ad campaign attacking Democrats over spending in advance of what could be a protracted battle over raising the debt ceiling.
The ads that begin running Tuesday come as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy, along with other congressional leaders, are set to meet at the White House.
The ads from the National Republican Congressional Committee target 35 vulnerable Democratic incumbents, charging that their “reckless spending” has brought the U.S. to the brink of default.
“Extreme House Democrats demand to keep spending our money like drunken sailors or they’ll tank the economy and allow America to default,” NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson of North Carolina said in a statement. “Every House Democrat said ‘no’ to addressing the spending crisis they created — if they won’t pay the tab they racked up, then they’ll pay at the ballot box.”
Among the targets of the new ads are several of the most vulnerable House Democrats, including freshmen Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico and Yadira Caraveo of Colorado.
The digital campaign is part of an escalating ad war between both parties and their allies over blame for the debt standoff.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll released last week found the public is evenly split over who is responsible if the debt ceiling is not raised and the government goes into default.
Democrats have said Republicans should pass a “clean” increase or suspension of the debt ceiling, since it would allow the government to spend money that has already been appropriated. They note Republicans approved several suspensions when Republican Donald Trump was president and they controlled both chambers.
The GOP is borrowing a page from its 2022 playbook, when Republicans hammered Democrats on inflation. The strategy proved successfully in New York, among other places.
Democrats are also going on the offensive. Biden on Wednesday plans to visit the district of a New York Republican who flipped a Democratic seat in the Hudson Valley.
A nonprofit group affiliated with House Democrats began running ads last month in competitive New York districts admonishing Republicans for risking default and “sinking us into recession.”
The NRCC ad says Democrats “maxed out our nation’s credit card with reckless spending, jacking up inflation to historic highs” and “refuse to solve the spending crisis they created.”
An NRCC spokesman said the digital ad campaign would cost the committee “five figures” but did not disclose the exact cost.
