Democratic Anxiety Rises Over Impending Thanksgiving Anti-Impeachment Ads: Report

Democrats expressed concerns that voters may be affected by GOP anti-impeachment ads over Thanksgiving break, multiple lawmakers and aides said.

Groups supporting the GOP have purchased almost $8 million in television ads targeting pivotal districts, Politico reported. Most of these ads will focus on hammering Democrats about impeachment, and Democrats expressed concerns to Democratic leaders that voters in these districts will be impacted by the ads as they watch football or the Thanksgiving parade, multiple lawmakers and aides told Politico.

“Many of us have been expressing our concerns to leadership,” a Democratic lawmaker who asked to be unnamed told Politico. “You don’t want to have to play catch up.”

“Everyone knows you don’t just take a shot and sit there,” the lawmaker added. “It’s like someone taped our arms to our side and punched us in the face.”

Some of the Democrats voiced their concerns to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday in a closed-door meeting with both her and her team. Multiple people in the room told Politico that a moderate Democrat asked whether Democrats will place ads in inexpensive media markets in rural swing districts, since incumbents in these areas are already looking for more air cover.

GOP groups are spending much more money buying anti-impeachment ad space, the publication reports. The non-profit group American Action Network spent about $5 million throughout 18 Democratic districts to purchase space for anti-impeachment ads. This compares to the liberal group, Protect Our Care, which spent $2 million on a digital ad campaign promoting a Democratic bill on drug prices.

News of Democratic concerns also follows reports that 2020 presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg has booked ad time in several media markets that will begin to air as early as Monday, according to Politico. Stations across the country have reported that Bloomberg has bought ad time, including stations in Mankato, Minnesota, Tallahassee, Florida, Pueblo, Colorado, and Sacramento, California, the publication reports.

Bloomberg plans to spend up to $500 million for this election, Politico reports.

The billionaire could spend more in a single day than most presidential candidates spend in their entire campaign, Democratic consultant pollster Fernand Amandi, who worked for former President Barack Obama’s campaigns, told Politico.