The ‘Left Coast’ is widely regarded as a Democrat stronghold, but Democratic advertising spending could signal a potential change in the 2022 midterm elections.
Less than a year ago, a GOP victory in deep-blue Washington state would have been unimaginable.
However, the unprecedented disaster of our current Democrat-led White House and Congress has given Republicans a momentum boost in the Democrat backyard.
Democrats are reportedly spending millions of advertising dollars in western states typically seen as comfortably blue in recent elections, including Washington state.
Colorado has also seen a significant boost in Democrat advertising spending leading to Tuesday’s GOP Senate primary.
Democrats are desperate to keep a moderate Republican off the ballot this fall.
Less than a year ago, a GOP Senate victory in deep blue Washington state would have been unthinkable. But now, Democrats are spending millions on advertising in several once-reliable Democratic strongholds.https://t.co/SqkJiBOHi3
— POLITICO (@politico) June 28, 2022
I said this on the radio last week that some of us already know that WA and CO Senate races could be pick ups for GOP this fall. Don't forget CT as well. https://t.co/0OVqK2VOLk
— Ned Ryun (@nedryun) June 28, 2022
Democrats getting the jitters in Washington and Colorado – POLITICO https://t.co/1QWWqxv95e
— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) June 28, 2022
Politico reported:
Washington’s Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, meanwhile, has spent more than $1 million on television ads in recent weeks, including two attacking her Republican opponent, Tiffany Smiley, in a state President Joe Biden won by nearly 20 points.
If the far-right Senate candidate wins, the state is likely a lost cause to flip to Republicans this year and won’t warrant spending money. But if a Republican who is palatable to the state’s large swath of unaffiliated voters is on the ballot, GOP leaders believe they could ride a red wave to defeat Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, who recently admitted that he could find himself in a “tough race” this fall.The majority of Colorado voters have an unfavorable view of Biden, 56 percent, while just 42 percent approve of the job he’s doing as president, according to polling this month by Global Strategy Group for ProgressNow, a liberal advocacy group in Colorado.In just the last few weeks, a Democratic super PAC has poured $3.9 million into television ads in the Republican primary race to help Ron Hanks, a state legislator who has declared that Donald Trump won the 2020 election and that all abortion should be outlawed.Joe O’Dea, a businessman and first-time candidate, is trying to run as a moderate Republican, tempering his answers on abortion to say women should have access to the procedure early on in pregnancy.The liberal group’s staggering TV ad buy in the GOP primary is on top of other misleading mailers being sent to voters — falsely claiming Hanks was endorsed by the Colorado Republican Party — that are now the subject of lawsuits by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the state GOP and O’Dea’s campaign. The NRSC has not publicly taken a position on the primary. O’Dea’s campaign estimates Democratic spending to meddle in the primary could total as much as $10 million, given the barrage of high-quality mailers that have been sent out across the state.Recent internal polling has shown the primary race to be close, according to multiple operatives in Colorado.
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