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Advocacy organizations are running ads against the House Democrats who represent districts that Donald Trump won in 2016.
Residents in 31 congressional districts are about to be inundated with millions of dollars’ worth of TV spots, Facebook ads, texts and tweets blaring that the “radical left” is trying to remove the president after a “witch hunt” — and that their Democratic representative is complicit.
Conservative organizations are blanketing those districts — which one group dubbed the “Dirty 30” — because each one voted for Trump in 2016, but later elected a Democrat in 2018. They’re convinced that impeachment has handed them a golden opportunity to flip those House seats in 2020, part of a long-shot bid to win back a Republican majority come November.
It’s a frenzied push to mobilize millions of grassroots activists as House Democrats move forward this week with a historic vote to impeach Trump, making him only the third president to face removal from office. The effort has looped in dozens of conservative groups, and is coordinated with the White House through twice-weekly briefing calls. Several people involved said the informal coalition has helped compensate for Trump administration’s anti-impeachment efforts, which numerous outside allies privately complained weren’t coherent or robust until recently.
“At least 31 House Democrats are hating their lives right now,” said Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, which bills itself as the nation’s oldest conservative grassroots organization.
Trump himself even tweeted about the targeting effort on Saturday, and his son, Donald Trump Jr. encouraged his followers to go after the 31 members.
“Call non-stop, tweet at them, tell them this will NOT STAND & you’ll remember in Nov!” he tweeted.
It’s unclear how effective the advertising and mobilization blitz will be in the short run — Democrats are only expecting a few defections on the impeachment vote. And in the long run, it seems unlikely that Republicans will retake the House next year, unless the party figures out a way to win back suburban voters.