Russia is making an early debut on the 2018 campaign trail as a Democratic group targets two Senate Republicans up for reelection for their stance on investigating President Trump’s alleged ties to the Kremlin.
American Bridge — a super PAC promoting Democrats — this week will release advertisements targeting GOP Sens. Dean Heller of Nevada and Jeff Flake of Arizona. The ads blast the Republicans for failing to endorse calls for an independent commission to investigate what intelligence officials say are links between Russia and the Trump team.
The ads accuse Heller and Flake of “turning a blind eye” to “how deep Donald Trump’s dangerous ties to Russia go,” and encourage viewers to “tell him to put country ahead of politics and demand an independent investigation into Trump and Russia.”
No money will be spent for the ads to be aired on television, however. The ads are only being circulated this week on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Next week, they will be shown on YouTube and via other Web video, with the whole campaign running over the next two weeks.
But they do preview an early line of attack by Democrats against Republicans.
“Donald Trump’s strange closeness with [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and his authoritarian regime is putting our national security at risk,” American Bridge President Jessica Mackler said in a statement. “With the stakes this high, Dean Heller and Jeff Flake need to support an independent investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia, and get the American people the answers they deserve.”
Heller and Flake are two of only eight GOP senators up for reelection in 2018, and represent states where Democrats are more likely to be competitive The new ads are a sign that some Democrats believe forcing Republicans to account for the Russia-related controversy surrounding Trump may be a winning strategy.
Last week, Flake told CNN “I don’t think a special committee is needed” to investigate Russia because other, standing committees — like the Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence — “is already looking into it.”
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Several Democrats have been calling for an independent commission to investigate alleged Russian meddling during the 2016 elections, citing concerns that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) might try to slow-walk the investigation.
But Democratic leaders have not all backed the effort to take the investigation out of the regular committee process.
Senate Intelligence Committee leading Democrat Mark R. Warner (Va.) and former vice chair Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) have effectively tamped down the current clamor for an independent commission, arguing that the Senate Intelligence panel is better equipped to handle the probe in a timely manner. They have also stated they have faith in Chair Richard Burr (R-N.C.).