The National Republican Senatorial Committee in unveiling a 7-figure ad campaign in 4 states to target H.R. 1, the House Democrats’ effort on nationwide voting changes as it advances to the Senate, slamming the legislation as a “power grab.”
The committee, which is the Senate Republicans’ main campaign arm, plans to release the ads in Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, and New Hampshire, telling Axios it sees those states as prime targets in hopes of unseating incumbents Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.
The ads are set to begin airing on Monday in English in all 4 states, and in English and Spanish in Arizona and Nevada. The House passed H.R. 1 on March 3, advancing it to the Senate where it will likely face a tough sell.
In Georgia’s advertising, the spot links Warnock, who won in January’s runoff race in Georgia, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and urges watchers to “stop the Warnock Pelosi plan.”
“The Washington power grab, you’ve seen it before, but Democrats are planning the biggest one yet,” the ad says. “Pelosi, Schumer, and Warnock want to use your tax dollars to fund their political ads and they’d let people register and vote without showing any form of ID. It’s political corruption. Stop the grab, stop the fraud, stop the Warnock-Pelosi plan. Now donate today.”
According to Politifact, H.R. 1, formally titled the For the People Act, doesn’t outright stop voter ID laws but does say that if a state has that requirement, it must allow the voter to give election officials a sworn written statement that attests to the person’s identity, under penalty of perjury if the statement is not true.
H.R. 1 has also come under fire for a provision that provides a government-funded 6-1 match of donations of less than $200 and other rules that Republicans say will lead to nationwide voter fraud while taking control of elections away from states.
“Senate Democrats claim they are fighting to protect our elections, but the reality is far different,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who chairs the NRSC, said in a statement. He added that H.R. 1, which he called the “Corrupt Politician Act,” is an “assault on American taxpayers.”
“Sens. Warnock, Kelly, Cortez Masto, and Hassan will have a lot of explaining to do over the next two years and a lot to answer for in 2022,” he said.
In addition to the NRSC, several other grassroots groups are spending millions to keep H.R. 1 from being passed.
Heritage Action for America, the Heritage Foundation’s non-profit group, has launched a $10 million push against H.R. 1.
The Susan B. Anthony List has also joined with the American Principles Project to launch a new Election Transparency Initiative. That effort is led by former Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli.
“The pro-life movement must engage in election transparency and integrity reform or their ability to elect pro-life, pro-family lawmakers – and pass laws that save lives – will be greatly diminished, if not extinguished,” Cuccinelli. “I’m proud to join SBA List and APP to act quickly to defeat the efforts of Democrats in Washington to federalize election laws through H.R.1, while simultaneously going on offense at the state level to rally the grassroots around meaningful reforms.”
Similar efforts have also been launched by the Tea Party Patriots, the Republican Attorney Generals Association, and the Foundation for Government Accountability.
Source: Newmax