Democrats in some of the most competitive Senate races are touting their party’s legislative accomplishments to lower the cost of prescription drugs and boost infrastructure and manufacturing —without ever mentioning President Joe Biden, who signed the bills into law.
The senators in tough reelection fights are touting their roles in advancing key parts of the Biden agenda but are specifically leaving out any mention of the president with low job approval ratings among the public.
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), who is fighting for his political life in a close race in Montana against Republican challenger Tim Sheehy, touted his work getting the Inflation Reduction Act across the finish line during a debate on Monday night.
“What we need to do is things like negotiations for prescription drugs or capping the cost of insulin, by the way, which we’ve done this year or last year with the Inflation Reduction Act, by the way, which I was the only one in the delegation to vote for,” Tester said in response to a question from the moderators asking the candidates about the best healthcare system for seniors.
The 2022 law was approved along party lines and required Vice President Kamala Harris to cast the tiebreaking vote and provides at least $370 billion to reduce carbon pollution by boosting the production of wind, solar, and other renewable energy and provides millions of dollars in tax credits to homeowners and consumers to move away from fossil fuels. The legislation also included prescription drug pricing reform and capped the cost of insulin for Medicare recipients at $35 per month.
Democrats in some of the most competitive Senate races this cycle are touting their party’s legislative accomplishments – from the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure bill & CHIPS Act. Here’s a sampling of ads airing from MT to MI. @dcexaminer pic.twitter.com/sewmGnGYXz
— Samantha-Jo Roth (@SamanthaJoRoth) October 1, 2024
Tester is also highlighting his role in getting the bill across the finish line in an ad airing across the state featuring the testimonial of a Montana senior with diabetes.
“I used to go to Canada for insulin, for years drug companies jacked up the price, Jon Tester took them on and got insulin lowered to 35 bucks a month,” said Bill Lattin, who is narrating the ad.
In ads across swing states, Senate Democrats embraced their role in passing the bipartisan infrastructure bill in 2021 that funded projects addressing the nation’s roads, bridges, and waterways, as well as broadband expansion. They also point to the bipartisan passage of the CHIPS Act in 2022, which provided $280 billion in subsidies for semiconductor manufacturing and scientific research to help the United States compete with China.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), locked in a competitive race with Republican opponent former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers to replace outgoing Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), highlighted her vote on the legislation in ads airing across the state.
“It’s why I worked with Democrats and Republicans to pass a law, guaranteeing we, America, make the microchips that power our cars,” Slotkin says in the ad.
Democrats have an opportunity to remind voters of their track records while also working to appeal to both independents and Republicans.
“When you are running for reelection, you highlight the popular stuff, and that means the good stuff that you had a leadership role in that you can take credit for,” said Jon Reinish, a Democratic strategist based in New York. “And by bad — I would include the currently unpopular president.”
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“If I’m Jon Tester, Tammy Baldwin, or Bob Casey, I’m certainly going to be talking about all the good that I did and the jobs and projects and the efforts I brought back to my state, but clearly they are smart enough not to mention Biden by name if he’s unpopular in the state,” Reinish added.
GOP groups have been launching ads that call out incumbent Democrats for supporting the Inflation Reduction Act. Americans for Prosperity Action, the campaign arm of Americans For Prosperity, a conservative activist group, launched digital ads in Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan in early September.
The ad targeting Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) claims his vote for the act “drove inflation higher, forcing Buckeye families to pay nearly $1,000 more per month for everyday essentials.”
When Biden signed the bill into law in 2022, the inflation rate was 8.3%, and it has fallen to 2.5% in August 2024. While the law cannot be attributed to inflation reduction, there isn’t evidence that it made inflation worse.
“I would certainly magnify that message, amplify that message — and if my Republican opponent is lying, I would call out the lie itself, the falsehood they are putting out there,” Reinish said.
Former President Donald Trump has called for clawing back unspent funding included in the law. In an op-ed in Newsweek on Tuesday, he slammed the legislation, calling it the “Inflation Creation Act.” Trump has criticized major aspects of the bill, including tax credits for electric vehicles.
“With her tie-breaking vote on what I call the ‘Inflation Creation Act,’ she sent billions to Chinese battery factories, Chinese solar factories, and Chinese electronics factories. It’s no wonder that under Kamala Harris, we lost 24,000 manufacturing jobs in August 2024 alone,” Trump wrote. “But this horrific nightmare for American workers ends the day I take the oath of office.”
Since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, nearly $150 billion has been slated to help fund American facilities producing electric cars, batteries and to build items for renewable energy. An analysis published by the Guardian last week found half of that funding will go to seven battleground states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — and will bring more than 50,000 new manufacturing jobs.
In mid-September, Brown announced a new investment for a glass production company in Toledo made possible through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure law.
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“With this support, Libbey Glass will continue to create good-paying jobs, and ensuring that Ohio remains a national leader in manufacturing and innovation,” Brown said in a press release.
Since the passage of the bill in 2022, there have been more than $7 billion in clean energy investments in Ohio, according to an analysis from an environmental nonprofit organization.