Hillary Clinton PAC pours thousands into vulnerable Dem races
Onward Together bankrolling tight races as Democrats predicted to lose big in November
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FIRST ON FOX: Hillary Clinton’s political action committee is pouring thousands of dollars into campaigns for vulnerable House Democrats ahead of the midterm elections, as the party scrambles to cling to its razor-thin majority.
Since June, Onward Together, which Clinton launched in 2017, has made campaign contributions to more than a dozen House Democrats across the country who face tight races in November, according to a new Federal Election Commission filing.
The White House traditionally loses roughly 25 House seats in the ensuing midterm elections. With 218 seats required to take control, Republicans are expected to gain at least a seven-seat majority (225 seats) and as much as a 37-seat majority (255 seats) in their "best case" scenario, according to the Fox News Power Rankings.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}With inflation hitting a crippling 9.1% and President Biden’s approval ratings tanking to all-time lows, some Democrats who risk losing their seats are downplaying the state of the economy and seizing on issues like the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and abortion rights.
Executive Producer Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks on stage during "Below The Belt" New York Premiere at Museum of Modern Art on May 24, 2022 in New York City. ((Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images))
The campaign of Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, who faces an uphill battle to keep her seat this cycle, received $2,500 from Onward Together last month.
Axne recently described the inflation crisis as a "narrative" being hyped by Republicans who are trying to "scare people" ahead of the elections.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Some of it’s incredibly misleading, and certainly some of it isn't even the president's fault or anything in Congress," she said at the time.
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during a press conference ahead of the screening of a movie “Hillary” within the 70th International Berlinale film festival in Berlin, Germany on February 25, 2020. ( Abdulhamid Hosbas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The campaign of Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Virginia, which has been boosted by her role on the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, also received a $2,500 donation from Onward Together last month.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Luria recently released a campaign ad touting her role on the committee as defending American democracy.
"People might say, ‘Well why would you do that? You might not get reelected,’" she says in the ad. "I don’t care because I did the right thing."
Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., listens as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds its first public hearing to reveal the findings of a year-long investigation, on Capitol Hill, Thursday, June 9, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Even Clinton herself, a prolific Twitter user, hasn’t tweeted about inflation or rising prices a single time. She’s been very vocal, however, about abortion, guns and the Jan. 6 committee, in recent weeks.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It shouldn't be harder to obtain an abortion than an AR-15," she tweeted June 27.
Other vulnerable Democrats who received donations from Clinton’s PAC in the past two months include Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Tom Malinowski of New Jersey, Dina Titus and Steven Horsford of Nevada, Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, Kim Schrier of Washington state, Dan Kildee of Michigan, Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Tom O’Halleran of Arizona, Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, Mike Levin of California, Jennifer Wexton of Virginia, and Sharice Davids of Kansas.
The Democrats’ messaging comes after a USA Today/Suffolk University poll released in June showed just under 15% of likely voters viewed abortion as the most important election issue headed into the midterms. Asked what matters more to their vote, abortion rights or the state of the economy, voters overwhelmingly picked the economy, with 66% choosing it compared to the 23% who chose abortion rights.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Meanwhile, the White House continues to blame inflation on the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing supply-chain issues, as well as the Russia-Ukraine crisis driving up energy costs, while Republicans have blamed Biden’s green energy agenda for hampering domestic oil production and his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan for over-stimulating the economy.
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Last week, Biden was criticized for blaming Republicans for the country's economic problems, despite his own party being in control of the executive and legislative branches of government.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Republicans are doing nothing but obstructing our efforts to crack down on gas-price gouging, lower food prices, lower healthcare costs, and hopefully, soon, lower your prescription drug costs," Biden tweeted. This is not right. And that’s why this election is going to be so darn important."