Democrats slam GOP on drug prices in bilingual digital ads

The House Democrats’ campaign arm Tuesday released a batch of digital ads in English and Spanish slamming Republicans for blocking drug pricing legislation while taking contributions from big pharma.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) ads, timed for release with the State of the Union address, will hit vulnerable Republicans in eight districts.

The ads, which will run on Facebook, will tie House Republicans to President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

“As President Trump prepares to peddle empty promises and sweet nothings in his State of the Union address, House Democrats will remind voters that Trump, McConnell, and Washington Republicans are blocking bipartisan House-passed legislation to bring down drug prices,” said DCCC Spokesperson Robyn Patterson.

The English-language ads will target Republican Reps. Ann Wagner (Mo.), Jefferson Van Drew (N.J.), Lee Zeldin (N.Y.), Don Bacon (Neb.), Fred Upton (Mich.), and Andy Barr (Ky.).

Reps. Ross Spano (Fla.) and David Schweikert (Ariz.) will be targeted with English- and Spanish-language ads.

The ads to run on Facebook will read, “STATE OF THE UNION: While President Trump is distracting Americans from the many ways he stood with special interests and kept Americans’ prescription drugs high, Mitch McConnell and Rep. Jeff Van Drew are breaking hearts all across our community with the same disappointing lies we’ve heard before.”

“We need Washington Republicans to ditch their special interest backers and put everyday people first, acting to make prescription drugs more affordable for us,” the ads will also say.

Democrats view health care as a winning issue for them, as it’s consistently polled as a top issue for Democratic voters, particularly Hispanics, and a weak point for President Trump and Republicans in his orbit.

According to a Gallup tracking poll, 73 percent of Americans were dissatisfied with the cost of health care as of November.