NRSC targets red-state Dems over shutdown

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) on Saturday announced a Facebook ad campaign going after red-state Democrats over the government shutdown.

The auto-play ads will be geo-targeted on Facebook to the home states of the 10 Senate Democrats up for reelection this year in states carried by President Trump in 2016. The ads will run for the duration of the government shutdown.

“Senate Democrats shut down the government for purely political reasons, but their partisan games will have real consequences for our troops, children and senior citizens,” Katie Martin, the NRSC communications director, said in a statement.

{mosads}

“The Schumer Shutdown threatens health insurance for 8.9 million children and cuts off funding for critical national security and domestic programs, and voters will hold red state Democrats accountable in November.”

The ads are targeting Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), Jon Tester (Mont.), Bob Casey Jr. (Pa.), Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Bill Nelson (Fla.) and Sherrod Brown (Ohio).

Four of those Democrats — Manchin, Heitkamp, McCaskill and Donnelly — joined with most Republicans in voting for a House-passed stopgap funding measure late Friday to keep the government open. However, the measure fell short of the 60 votes necessary to succeed.

The Democratic National Committee on Saturday announced its own ad campaign targeting five Republican senators — two of whom are up for reelection this year — who the committee argues caused the government shutdown. Those ads will also run for the duration of the shutdown.

Both Republicans and Democrats argue the other party is responsible for the government funding lapse, which began at midnight when the Senate failed to pass a short-term spending bill.

The Republican National Committee has employed the hashtag #SchumerShutdown to blame Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Democrats for the closure. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party says Trump is responsible.

Lawmakers have spent weeks taking part in discussions to reach an agreement over a funding bill. Immigration and health care have been sticking points in the talks, which have yet to yield a solution to the government closure.