As is to be expected, ad campaigns have pointed the finger at incumbent politicians for economic woes. One Senate hopeful, in an ad titled “Blame Washington,” derides politicians who “set the rules, weakened the supply chain and spiked inflation.”
Despite this being the typical script for a Republican candidate, who currently holds the minority in the Senate and House, the line is attributed to Senate candidate Democrat Lt. Gov. John Fetterman from Pennsylvania.
But Fetterman’s ad — blaming Washington, Democrats in Congress, and politicians — isn’t an outlier.
Dozens of Democrats have applied a similar strategy to their ad campaigns, distancing themselves from their party and declaring their opposition to President Joe Biden’s agenda.
In an ad campaign launched in July, Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) touted: “I stood up to some in my own party and pushed to cut the gas tax and to hire more police officers.”
Kildee and other incumbent Democrats have had to embrace this rhetoric, given the odds not being in their favor, as historically, the party in power typically loses the majority.
GOP political advertiser, John Brabender, noted that the ads could be a result of Democrats hedging their bets “that Biden’s numbers are not going to improve.”
For over a year, Biden’s approval rating has been dismal, but that has changed recently as the President’s approval experiences some revival according to recent polling following a string of policy victories.
The policy victories, including the passage of the PACT Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act, have been welcomed ahead of November 8.
