RNC drops six-figure ad buy for Supreme Court, healthcare fight

The Republican National Committee (RNC) is committing almost $250,000 to a series of digital ads meant to pressure vulnerable Democratic senators into agreeing to an “up-or-down vote” on President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee and to gin up support for the GOP healthcare plan working its way through Congress.

The ad buy, provided exclusively to The Hill, is made up of three separate ads — two on healthcare and one on Judge Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation — that will run on social media. The buy shows a coordinated effort by the party to support two of the key priorities shared by the White House.

“Americans across the country are excited about the bold Republican agenda President Trump and Congressional Republicans have put forward to address some of our nation’s most pressing issues,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel told The Hill in a statement.

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“The RNC is committed to using all our resources to promote these policies and reforms which will benefit all Americans. As we continue to work hand-in-hand with a unified Republican government, I look forward to more opportunities to reach out directly to voters to communicate President Trump’s message,” she added.

The Gorsuch ads come after the appellate judge faced two days of hearings in the Senate this week and threats by Democratic leaders that they may try to delay his confirmation, citing concerns stemming from FBI Director James Comey’s revelation Monday of an investigation into potential ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

“Our president has done his job to appoint a justice to the Supreme Court,” the RNC’s Gorsuch ad states. “The voters have demanded an up-or-down vote in the full Senate on Judge Gorsuch.”

Ten versions of the ad are aimed at 10 Democratic senators – all but one who are up in a tight reelection race in 2018 – and include telephone numbers for each of their offices in Washington, D.C.

The personalized ads will target voters in the states of Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine (Va.), Michael Bennet (Colo.), Bill Nelson (Fla.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Bob Casey (Penn.), Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Jon Tester (Mont.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Debbie Stabenow (Mich.).

The other two ads target voters in states with tight 2018 elections and seek to shed a positive light on the GOP’s healthcare plan.

Trump and GOP leadership have been whipping support for the bill ahead of a Thursday vote, but it appears there could be enough conservative dissent to block the bill, according to The Hill’s Whip List.

One ad blasts the Affordable Care Act as a “false promise” by Democrats, while the other – slated for release on the Thursday anniversary of ObamaCare being signed into law – lays out the GOP’s multi-pronged plan for a healthcare replacement, using the current bill making its way through Congress, administrative actions and additional legislation.