AURORA | U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora, is one of many likely targets of a new ad launched Thursday, May 26, by the Democratic Congressional Campaign as part of its first paid digital advertising in this year’s campaign cycle.
According to a press release from the DCCC, the ads will target 15 congressional districts where voters are still undecided on Republican presidential frontrunner Donal Trump.
The advertisement, called “Building Blocks,” describes similarities between Trump and House Republicans on issues such as LGBT rights, Muslims, immigration and women’s healthcare issues. It focuses on anti-Planned Parenthood comments of Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, as well as Trump’s now-infamous line about immigrants being “rapists,” next to Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, commenting on an immigrant’s physical appearance in relation to trafficking drugs.
“For everyone who’s a valedictorian, there’s another hundred out there that they weigh 130 pounds and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert,” Kings says in the ad.
It also compares Trump’s declaration to no longer allow Muslims into the country with New York congressman Peter King’s comment that there are “too many mosques in this country” and that “we should be looking at them more carefully” to find out how to “infiltrate” them.
Coffman is not featured in the ad, but Tyler Law, a spokesman with the DCCC, said the Aurora congressman should feel a negative impact from them.
“Congressman Coffman’s extreme record and history of disturbing rhetoric helped pave the way for Donald Trump,” Law said. “No amount of half-hearted political double-speak from Coffman or his handlers will change that fact – although we certainly expect them to try.”
Zach Hunter of the National Republican Congressional Committee said Thursday that the group is not currently running any ads in Colorado at this time, but that they believe the DCCC ads will not be convincing.
“Democrats are trying the same failed attacks that didn’t work in 2012 or 2014 and won’t work this fall,” Hunter said. “The DCC knows Mike Coffman is a hardworking, independent voice for 6th District families and they simply cannot run on the issues.”
For months Law has sent emails through the DCCC attempting to connect Coffman to Trump.
“Last night, Congressman Coffman not only voted in favor of targeting LGBT Americans and allowing our military officers to be trained under the Confederate flag, he and his reckless Republican colleagues pushed their joint Trump-House Republican divisiveness into the debate about a critical defense measure,” Law said in an email blast May 19.
Coffman faces Democratic state Sen. Morgan Carroll of Aurora for the competitive House seat this fall. Her campaign Carroll for Colorado has also been tying Coffman to Trump’s policy positions.
“Friend — as we inch closer to Election Day, Republican Congressman Mike Coffman still pledges he will support the GOP nominee — and there’s no doubt that man will be Donald Trump,” says one campaign email from May 23. “Coffman and Trump share an extreme agenda that would tear hardworking immigrant families apart and restrict access to women’s health care.”
Earlier this month, Coffman didn’t specifically endorse Trump as his party’s presidential nominee, but also didn’t discount the bombastic candidate entirely.
“Both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump have tapped into a legitimate anger about the failures of Washington but instead of running a campaign built on a positive vision for overcoming these failures, Donald Trump has conducted a polarizing and divisive campaign,” Coffman said in a statement. “Hillary Clinton is a non-starter and lacks the integrity to lead this nation but Trump has a long way to go to earn the support of many – me included.”
The DCCC’s web ads will run for 30 and 60 seconds. The DCCC said they are targeted to women who lean Republican and independent. Though they do not give an exact amount, the DCCC said the ads are a five-figure digital ad buy and that many thousands will be spent per district on the ads. It was also not specified whether Colorado would be one of the 15 districts targeted by the DCCC for this ad buy.
See the ad at https://dccc.org/buildingblocks.