In the US, Republicans are licking their wounds, and Democrats are celebrating their unexpected success. However, this came about in an unusual way in some key duels: the Democrats disseminated the positions of radical Republicans in their primaries. Some consider that reprehensible.
According to US President Joe Biden, this was an attack on democracy, and he meant the hundreds of Republican candidates for congress and state offices who still deny his victory over Donald Trump two years ago. To fend off this attack, the Democrats used a dubious and breakneck tactic in some places: They meddled with millions of dollars in Republican primary elections.
The money went to campaign advertising. Most of them highlighted extreme candidates on television and radio as Trump’s staunch allies and emphasized their conservative values. Others attacked and discredited the more moderate candidate, even if he was closer to democratic values. The goal was to help the more extreme candidate win. This should increase the Democrats’ chances in the November 8 election. It was a risky bet, since they increased the profile of the potential future opponent.
According to the Washington Post, the Democrats interfered in primary races in Michigan, Colorado, California, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Maryland and New Hampshire. The desired candidate won seven times. And as hoped, six of them lost to Democrats Tuesday: Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania, John Gibbs in Michigan, Don Bolduc and Robert Burns in New Hampshire, Dan Cox in Maryland and Darren Bailey in Illinois. It could be seven. Republican Kari Lake, Arizona gubernatorial candidate and former TV host, is neck and neck with her competitor. The counting of votes continues.
Of course, it’s possible that all of these candidates would have won their primaries anyway because of Trump’s endorsement, but that’s impossible to gauge in hindsight. The Democrats had speculated that extreme opponents would mobilize their own voters. Just like two years ago, when the majority of Americans were primarily concerned with getting rid of Trump – and not with bringing Biden into the White House.
There are precedents, the most well-known being from 2012. Pollsters had found out for the then Senator Claire McCaskill from Missouri which advertising messages they could use to encourage conservative voters to support their preferred candidate. The Democrat wanted to run against Republican Todd Akin because she thought she had the best chance against him. So the ads that ran labeled Akin as “too conservative,” which was supposed to trigger what’s called a reverse psychological effect.
In fact, Akin won his party primary as hoped and lost the duel to McCaskill with a bang. The Republican was extreme in many ways. During the election campaign, he said, for example, that “legitimate rape” rarely leads to pregnancy. McCaskill had spent $1.7 million on Akin, much more than himself.
David Turner, communications director for the Democratic Governors Association, denies that at least his organization used this tactic in the midterm elections. He told New York Magazine that in the states of Illinois, Maryland and Pennsylvania, the association of Democratic governors was looking for candidates with solid poll results who were supported by Trump. Then she placed ads for millions of dollars detailing her right-wing positions. “We didn’t want them to be able to wriggle out later,” Turner said. The attacked Republicans would have won their primaries anyway, he said.
Not all Democrats agree with this approach. In August, 35 former party officials published a letter sharply criticizing the party leadership. “We should never support candidates who spread lies about the 2020 election and deny the result,” it said. “The committee should never side with Trump and promote candidates who undermine the constitution and the democratic system,” said initiator Tim Roemer, a former congressman and US ambassador.
Roemer and the signatories see a moral problem. Biden and the Democrats present themselves as defenders of democracy, but at the same time they fund advertising, which to some extent helps and popularizes people who demonize them.
