Republicans and Democrats are working overtime to cash in on donations and campaign rhetoric using the government shutdown turmoil in Washington, as millions of federal workers go unpaid.
New ads tied to campaign arms of both parties not only offer a window into the tactics to tether the shutdown to the 2026 midterm elections, but they also reveal the level of strategizing long before the federal government shuttered early Wednesday.
As the shutdown stretched into its third day on Thursday, it remained an open question whether the episode might hurt either party at the ballot box. Democrats remained committed to their demands for extending expiring Biden-era Obamacare subsidies in exchange for reopening the government, and the White House reaffirmed mass layoff plans and slashed federal projects already funded in blue states.
“I think people in this country want to see us fight for their healthcare. I think they want to see us fight for their democracy,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), a member of Schumer’s leadership team, told the Washington Examiner. “I think if Democrats don’t show fight for the things that we care about, there are consequences for our party this November and next November.”
Senate Majority PAC, linked to Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), launched a $1 million ad campaign this week through two other associated groups to target Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), the GOP’s most vulnerable incumbent, and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK).
The anti-Collins ad was uploaded to Majority Forward’s YouTube page Sept. 26, five days before the shutdown began, as an “unlisted” post that is only viewable with the direct link. The anti-Sullivan ad was also posted as an “unlisted” link by Duty & Honor Sept. 29, two days before the shutdown.
Both followed a similar script, saying the Republican senators were “willing to shut down the government” to support President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Senate Democrats’ campaign arm also released shutdown-related digital ads Sept. 29 against Sens. Sullivan, Collins, Jon Husted (R-OH), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), who’s running to succeed retiring Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA).
The Senate GOP’s campaign arm has most aggressively targeted Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Democrats’ most vulnerable incumbent. An ad, released on the shutdown’s first day, panned Ossoff for having “stabbed our veterans in the back, voting with Schumer to shut down the government.”
On the other side of the Capitol, the super PAC tied to House Democratic leadership launched a $3 million digital ad campaign targeting 10 Republicans a full week before the shutdown. The House GOP’s campaign arm countered with its own digital ad campaign against 42 Democrats, launched on the shutdown’s first day.
“I realize that my Democrat colleagues are facing pressure from members of their far-left base. But they’re playing a losing game here,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD). “A robust majority of American voters are against a government shutdown. Even some Democrat members are raising concerns.”
Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), a vulnerable centrist who supported a House-passed stopgap funding measure that Senate Democrats have defeated three times using their filibuster leverage, offered Republicans the latest ammo in branding the saga the “Schumer Shutdown” or “Democrat Shutdown.” In a statement, Golden blasted “hardball politics driven by the demands of far-left groups.”
Voters’ views on who to blame for the shutdown have varied, with both parties grasping bits and pieces to fit their desired partisan narratives.
DEMOCRATS DIG IN ON SHUTDOWN DEMANDS AFTER RUSS VOUGHT ‘BULLY’ TACTICS
Republicans have pointed to a New York Times/Siena College poll, conducted before the shutdown, showing only a minority of registered voters, including Democrats, supported Democrats’ shuttering the government unless their demands were met. Democrats have touted a Washington Post survey, conducted after the shutdown commenced, finding a plurality of Americans (47%) blame Trump and congressional Republicans vs. Democrats (30%).
The shutdown is likely to last into next week. On Friday, the Senate will hold its fourth vote on the House-passed bill, which would fund the government through Nov. 21 for negotiations to continue on a yearlong budget and health insurance subsidies. It’s all but certain to fail from a lack of Democratic support, at which point the upper chamber will recess for the weekend and return on Monday.
David Sivak contributed to this report.