The Republican National Committee (RNC) is gearing up to launch a multimillion-dollar effort at the start of 2018 aimed at vulnerable Democrats who voted against the GOP’s tax bill.
In January, the RNC will institute the second phase of its data-focused field program to reach voters about details of the tax overhaul. There will also be a major digital ad component targeting Democrats on the ballot over opposition to the bill.
President Trump and Republicans celebrated the Wednesday passage of the plan, a $1.5 trillion bill that cuts tax rates for individuals and corporations and, among other things, repeals ObamaCare’s individual mandate and permits drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
But it’s unclear whether the tax bill, which has regularly recorded mixed or negative approval ratings in polls, can be a winning issue for Republicans in 2018. A Monmouth University poll released Monday found 47 percent of respondents opposed the bill, while only 26 percent said they approved of it.
The RNC will focus on the 10 Democratic senators up for reelection in states that Trump carried in 2016. Republicans have a slim 51-seat majority in the Senate and will be looking to unseat those red-state Democrats since the party is largely on offense next year.
“We’re going to remind every voter that Republicans gave the American people a historic pay raise while Democrats stood in the way,” RNC chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel said in a statement provided to The Hill.
“We have more resources deployed than any other political organization, and we’re going to use our assets to hold Democrats accountable,” she said.
The RNC’s efforts next year will lead up to its first National Day of Training on Jan. 20, when the committee will train thousands of staff, fellows and volunteers across the country in preparation for the midterm elections.
Meanwhile, Democrats argue that the tax overhaul favors businesses and the wealthy over middle-class families. No Democrats in the House or Senate joined Republicans in voting for the bill.
The party also believes they can frame it as a winning issue in 2018 and have already weaponized it in ad campaigns. Democrats believe the unpopularity of the bill, coupled with the current political climate and Trump’s low approval numbers, will buoy them in the midterms.