The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) released a series of Halloween advertisements on Wednesday, targeting 15 vulnerable House Democrats who want to allow the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to spy on the bank accounts of nearly every American.
The House Republican campaign arm ads depict vulnerable Democrats spending billions funded by taxpayer dollars to hire more IRS employees to spy on bank accounts.
Democrats previously proposed for the IRS to spy on Americans who make transactions over $600, but following an outcry from Republicans, the Democrats proposed a $10,000 threshold to capture higher-income Americans.
In the ad specifically targetting Rep. Cindy Axne (D-IA) — the lone congressional Democrat elected in Iowa, who Republicans have targeted as a vulnerable member — the narrator posed the question, “What’s scarier than Halloween?”
The narrator then stated, “Democrats spending billions to hire an army of IRS agents to spy on your bank account. Cindy Axne, Nancy Pelosi, and Joe Biden’s plan would give the federal government new authority to monitor your spending.”
“Democrats’ plan to spy on the bank accounts of everyday Americans who spend over $10,000 per year is downright scary. Voters will reject Democrats’ efforts to exert more government control over their personal finances,” said the NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer (R-MN) in an emailed statement.
The NRCC is also running paid media against 14 other vulnerable Democrats:
- Tom O’Halleran (AZ)
- Katie Porter (CA)
- Jahana Hayes (CT)
- Stephanie Murphy (FL)
- Marie Newman (IL)
- Jared Golden (ME)
- Dan Kildee (MI)
- Chris Pappas (NH)
- Andy Kim (NJ)
- Tom Malinowski (NJ)
- Tom Suozzi (NY)
- Antonio Delgado (NY)
- Susan Wild (PA)
- Kim Scrier (WA)
A recent NRCC battleground survey asked voters in 85 battleground congressional districts, “Would you be more or less likely to support a Democrat who supports a proposal that would allow the IRS to monitor your bank accounts to make sure you are paying enough taxes?”
The survey revealed that it was part of their most compelling message. A clear majority (57 percent) of voters in the battleground congressional districts said they would be less likely to support a Democrat who backed the proposal to spy on bank accounts.
The survey also showed that Republicans were leading Democrats on the generic ballot in the 85 battleground congressional districts, 43 percent to 40 percent, respectively.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter.