GOP women’s group backs Dem candidates in Michigan

A Michigan Republican women’s PAC is backing two Democratic candidates in November over their Trump-supporting opponents, pointing to President Trump’s rhetoric and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings as key reasons for the move.

The Metro Times reported Wednesday that the political action committee Republican Women for Progress will take out ad buys for two Democratic House candidates facing Trump-aligned GOP challengers as the group seeks a Congress willing to serve as a “check” on the president.

{mosads}“We think the best thing that we can do for the party and for the country right now is to make sure there are good women — Democrat or Republican — that are elected to office and who can serve as a check on this administration and on the president,” the group’s founder Meghan Milloy told the newspaper.

Federal Election Commission reports show that the group was primarily funded last month by Reid Hoffman, a California billionaire who co-founded the professional networking site LinkedIn. Hoffman has been a critic of Trump in the past.

One ad for Elissa Slotkin, running in the state’s 8th Congressional District against Rep. Mike Bishop (R), features a Republican voter shaming Bishop over the president’s treatment of women.

None of the ads reportedly feature specific Trump comments, but they include imagery from controversies surrounding the president including the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape that was released during the 2016 election.

“How can you represent women when you talk about them like you’re from the 1950s?” a woman in the ad asks, before adding of Slotkin: “I don’t care that she’s a Democrat, as long as she’s on the side of truth.”

They are also backing Haley Stevens in the 11th District in her race against Lena Epstein.

Cook Political Report rates the 8th District as a “toss-up” and the 11th District as “lean Democratic.”

Milloy told the newspaper that talking to suburban Republican women who could not support the president’s remarks about Christine Blasey Ford, who came forward with accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh during the waning days of his confirmation battle, cemented her view that Democrats should win in November.

“[This effort] really was inspired by us talking to Republican women in these districts where they said there was just no way that they could vote for the Republican,” Milloy said.

Democrats are hoping to ride a wave of left-leaning support to retake the House in the midterms.

They need to gain 23 seats to win the majority in the lower chamber. Recent polls show Democrats holding a single-digit advantage over the GOP on a generic House ballot.

Updated at 10:36 a.m.