Democrats launch new campaign to tie vulnerable New York Republicans to George Santos

CNN
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The House Democrats’ campaign arm is launching a new effort to tie vulnerable New York Republicans to Rep. George Santos, with Democrats betting the freshman congressman will be a major liability to the GOP in key swing districts l ‘next year.

Starting Monday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is launching a five-figure poster campaign targeting five freshman Republicans who received donations from Santos: New York Reps. Nick LaLota, Anthony D’Esposito, Mike Lawler , Marc Molinaro and Brandon Williams, all of whom helped Republicans win a narrow majority last fall by winning seats that President Joe Biden won.

Both Molinaro and D’Esposito returned Santos’ money after a number of his financial troubles came to light, but billboards in their districts are asking why lawmakers took the campaign money to “a fraudster” in the first place. The other three billboards, which feature a photo of Santos and the lawmaker, ask if members will return campaign donations.

The five Republicans have sought to distance themselves from Santos, becoming one of the loudest voices in the party condemning him or calling on him to step down. Still, Democrats see an opening to tie these GOP freshmen to Santos.

The week-long campaign, details of which were first shared with CNN, comes unusually early in the cycle and is a sign that Democrats plan to make a serious effort to reverse their midterm losses in the Empire. State. While Democrats managed to stave off an anticipated red wave in many parts of the country, New York was an exception. Republicans there have effectively run on crime and flipped a number of competitive House seats, which will be top targets for Democrats as they seek to win back power in 2024.

“New Yorkers want Santos out of office, and these congressmen’s meaningless words aren’t enough to make up for their failure to take action to hold their campaign donor accountable,” the racketeer said. word of the DCCC, Nebeyatt Betre. “The least they can do is answer these questions.”

The DCCC is not alone in focusing on New York. Last week, the House Majority PAC — the predominant super PAC that works to elect Democrats to the House — announced a $45 million program dedicated to the Empire State to help Democrats regain a majority in 2024.

Santos, who refused to step down, admitted to lying about key aspects of his resume and is facing local, state and federal investigations that have fueled Republican concerns about his potential impact on the rest of the GOP ticket at New York.

Santos recently told People he was considering running for a second term, according to multiple Republican sources, after previously signaling to Republicans that he would not seek reelection.

But if Santos runs again, party leaders promise to mount an aggressive effort to defeat him in a primary and have assured New York Republicans that Santos will not be their candidate.