Republicans abandon tax cut message in Pa. special election
It’s a sign they think the issue isn’t resonating — potentially a big problem in the midterms.
By KEVIN ROBILLARD 03/13/2018 05:01 AM EDT Updated 03/13/2018 08:24 AM EDT
Republicans have backed away from their signature tax cut bill in the final days of a closely-watched special House election in the Pittsburgh suburbs — even though it's the very accomplishment on which they had banked their midterm election hopes.
Instead, GOP groups that once proudly declared the tax law would be the central fight of the midterms are now airing ads on so-called sanctuary cities and attacking Democrat Conor Lamb’s record as a prosecutor as they try to drag GOP state Rep. Rick Saccone over the finish line. The strategy shift has been dramatic.
For the weeks of Feb. 4 and Feb. 11, roughly two-thirds of the broadcast television ads from Saccone’s campaign, the super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund and the National Republican Congressional Committee mentioned taxes, according to a POLITICO analysis of data from Advertising Analytics. For the week of February 18, that dropped to 36 percent, and to 14 percent the week after. Since the beginning of March, tax ads have been essentially non-existent. Only two are on the air now — one from the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action which briefly mentions the tax law, and a radio ad from a progressive group attacking Saccone for supporting the law.
If the tax law isn’t a reliable vote-winner, it means Republicans may have to find different midterm messaging to go along with a consistent wave of attacks linking Democratic candidates to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. The Pennsylvania race will mark the second major contest of the cycle, following the Virginia governor’s race, where Republicans abandoned a tax cut-focused message to hammer a Democrat over immigration and crime.
more
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/13/pennsylvania-special-election-preview-tax-republicans-458276
= new reply since forum marked as read
