|
LA Times: “In key swing districts that could determine which party controls Congress, Democrats are criticizing a lack of solutions and calling for public safety improvements at the U.S.-Mexico border”
Vulnerable House Republicans are on defense this week, with new reporting from the LA Times showing how House Democratic candidates and incumbents alike are “flipping the script on border security” — proving once again that solving challenges on the border is not only a priority, but a winning issue.
Will Rollins is using his new ad to blast vulnerable Republican Ken Calvert and the corrupt congressman’s hypocrisy for wielding “secure the border” as a campaign rallying cry despite opposing a bipartisan border security bill “that would have added 1,500 more agents on the border.”
Meanwhile in Washington’s 3rd district, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is also facing the border crisis head on. Perez’s ad last month featured local sheriffs praising her work to combat fentanyl, and touted her “bipartisan record” in Southwest Washington.”
DCCC Spokesperson Dan Gottlieb:
“Folks like Will Rollins and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez have shown they’re more than ready to meet voters where they’re at and put in the work to address their concerns around border security. Vulnerable House Republicans have spent years cynically using the border as a political football, but when the cards are down and voters can see their records side-by-side, Democrats come out on top every time when it comes to the health, security, and safety of our nation.”
Los Angeles Times: In political ads, Democrats go on offense about border security
Andrea Castillo | August 19, 2024
-
Democrats are flipping the script on border security, with political ads for races across the country highlighting an issue Republicans have repeatedly used as an attack. In key swing districts that could determine which party controls Congress, Democrats are criticizing a lack of solutions and calling for public safety improvements at the U.S.-Mexico border.
-
“Ken Calvert has had 32 years to secure the border,” Democrat Will Rollins says in an ad that debuted last week, arguing that the incumbent Republican he’s seeking to oust in California’s 41st Congressional District has not gotten the job done.
-
In the ad, Rollins says that as a prosecutor in the U.S. attorney’s office, he put away drug lords, Mexican Mafia members and violent criminals. The video cuts to a Calvert for Congress sign that reads “Secure the border!”
-
But that posture is a lie, Rollins says, pointing to Calvert’s opposition to a bipartisan border security bill that would have added 1,500 more agents on the border.
-
A month earlier, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez — a Democrat from Washington state who, in 2022, flipped a seat long held by the GOP — released an ad touting her work to take on the Biden administration and cooperate with Republicans to secure the southern border.
-
It featured two sheriffs from her state, with Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders saying, “Marie is delivering the tools and manpower we need to tackle fentanyl.”
-
In a caption accompanying the video on Facebook, Perez wrote, “My bipartisan record is clear. I’m working to secure our border, combat fentanyl, and support law enforcement in Southwest Washington. That’s why I’m backed by Republican and Independent county sheriffs, and our rank-and-file peace officers.”
-
Democratic strategist Michael Trujillo said such ads are a relatively new move for Democratic candidates, who have traditionally avoided focusing on immigration as a campaign issue. They reflect candidates trying to meet voters where they’re at on an issue that has dominated the conservative media for many months.
-
“A lot is driven by what voters see on the news, what they’re watching on Fox or what Trump is trying to make a top story. You’re seeing Democrats show their response to this, showing they are not going to just ignore the border and this is a priority.”
|
