The opening arguments in the closely fought House race are heavy on the cost of living, abortion and the U.S.-Mexico border, issues that dominate the television airwaves — and Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, as down-ballot candidates, are largely unmentioned. campaigns are heating up.
A number of campaigns and outside groups launched new television ads Tuesday in the nation’s most competitive House districts, kicking off a two-month sprint to Election Day. While the presidential campaign has been going on for months, fueled by tsunamis of online donations from both parties, many House campaigns are saving their reserves for the last stretch before pouring money into the issues they want to emphasize the most.
Democrats need to pick up just four seats to take the chamber, while Republicans are eager to expand their slim majority. and the battle for the House of Representatives will help determine whether the next president will face a belligerent or cooperative Congress as they try to address these key issues.
But the presidential race and party leaders barely came up last week as House candidates from both parties sought to separate themselves from the top of the ticket and focus on key issues.
An analysis of nearly 150 television commercials that aired last week in the 44 most competitive Home districts, as identified by NBC News. the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter It found no Democratic ads name-checked for Trump, and only four GOP ads directly referencing or showing Harris.
The majority of TV ads focused instead on candidate biographies as candidates sought to introduce themselves to voters.
For some, this involves going to great lengths – or lengths – to increase their name recognition. For example, Pennsylvania Republican Rob Bresnahan stopped by electrician’s bucket over some power lines, he’s highlighting his background as an electrical contractor as he prepares to take on Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright. Democrat Tony Vargas of Nebraska took to the basketball court trying to score a few points with voters, GOP Rep. Jen Kiggans of Virginia went out of her way to emphasize that she is. a run, figuratively and literally.
Along with bio spots and ads stressing that the two parties are honest, the opening messages of the House race focused on the issues voters often list as their top concerns in the 2024 election: cost of living, abortion and the border.
While both parties focused on the cost of living, ads focused on abortion and border security fell across party lines.
Democrats have taken offense to abortion and reproductive rights, and only two Republicans have run ads on those issues in the past week. While Republicans have mounted attacks on border security, more Democrats have responded to these missions, with nearly 20% of Democratic ads mentioning the issue.
Last week, Democratic campaigns, outside groups and party committees aired nearly twice as many TV ads as Republicans. monetary advantage Democrats have built throughout the election cycle.
But both parties are bracing for an expensive fight ahead, with Democrats having so far earmarked $284 million in House races and Republicans $186 million between Tuesday and Election Day.
Cost of living
The high cost of living is a focus for voters, and the issue dominates House races, with nearly a quarter of ads referencing the topic. About 40% of recent GOP ads focus on cost of living, compared to about 16% of Democratic ads. Republicans see the issue as a salient issue up and down the ballot, with voters giving Trump higher marks than Harris in recent polls.
An ad Texans, represented Tuesday by both the National Republican Congressional Committee and Texas’ 34th District Republican Mayra Flores, said, “Washington Democrats are killing us. Everything is more expensive – eggs, beef and even cilantro.
Workers for America’s Future, an outside group supporting Flores’ opponent, Democratic Republican Vicente Gonzalez, has launched. is its own advertisement on the matter, claiming that Gonzalez is “trying to lower costs for families by putting wages and our economy first.”
Mixed issues
Democrats, meanwhile, are resorting to criminalizing access to abortion, echoing a core argument of the Harris campaign. Abortion was a top issue among Democrats, referenced in 30% of the party’s ads in the last week. That’s thanks in part to more than a dozen ads launched Tuesday by House Majority PAC, the top Democratic super PAC involved in House races. All but two focused on abortion.
A spot in Michigan’s 8th Circuit underscored the challenge facing Democrats trying to bring an abortion lawsuit in a state where the procedure is already protected.
“Michigan already voted to protect abortion rights,” notes one narrator advertising. “But this will not stop the extremist Paul Junge. “Junge wants to ban abortion without the exception of rape or incest.”
At least one Republican tried to respond directly to attacks on the issue last week. GOP Rep. Mark Molinaro of New York aired an advertisement looked directly into the camera and said, “Let me be clear about where I stand on the important issue of reproductive care. I believe health care decisions should be made between a woman and her doctor, not Washington,” she said, adding that she supports in vitro fertilization and birth control and opposes a federal ban on abortion.
Democrats are targeting Molinaro in this matter. Democrat Josh Riley launched its own ad Highlighting Molinaro’s past votes to argue that he does not support access to abortion and would support a federal ban.
Republicans want to keep cracking down on illegal immigration and concerns about the state of the U.S.-Mexico border, which has also been a key issue for Trump’s campaign. Border issues were among the most mentioned in GOP ads, with the exception of cost of living and candidate biographies.
The American Action Network, the nonprofit arm of the GOP super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund, had a series of ads targeting Democrats across the border last week. In a place In New Mexico’s 2nd District, the group took aim at Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez, claiming the border crisis has “spilled crime into New Mexico” and that the congressman is “blocking solutions.”
But Democrats are trying to respond at the border in some places, with nearly 20% of Democratic ads citing the issue.
There was also House Majority Forward, the nonprofit arm of House Majority PAC a stain Defending Vasquez on the matter, the local sheriff highlighted Vasquez’s support for a government funding package that calls for additional border agents.