House GOP reelection arm targets 15 potentially vulnerable Democrats over rising prices

EXCLUSIVE: The House Republican reelection committee is taking aim at 15 Democrats it considers vulnerable in the 2022 midterm elections with a new online ad blitz that spotlights the nationwide rise in inflation.

"We all feel it," says the narrator in the spots by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) that were shared first on Thursday with Fox News. "Everything is more expensive."

HOUSE REPUBLICANS SPOTLIGHT INFLATION AS PART OF PUSH TO RETAKE MAJORITY

And the narrator charges that "Democrats’ harmful economic policies are making everyday goods cost more" before urging viewers to call the Democratic member of Congress being targeted in the ad to tell them, "We can’t afford this."

The NRCC says it's spending five figures to run the digital spots as part of an overall six-figure ad blitz this month.

The ads target Democratic Reps. Tom O'Halleran of Arizona (AZ-01), Josh Harder of California (CA-10), Jahana Hayes of Connecticut (CT-05), Stephanie Murray of Florida (FL-07), Sharice Davids of Kansas (KS-03,) Cindy Axne of Iowa (IA-03), Jared Golden of Maine (ME-02), Elissa Slotkin (MI-08) and Haley Stevens (MI-11) of Michigan, Angie Craig of Minnesota (MN-02), Chris Pappas of New Hampshire (NH-01), Tom Malinowski of New Jersey (NJ-07), Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania (PA-08), Vicente Gonzalez of Texas (TX-15) and Ron Kind of Wisconsin (WI-03).

All of the lawmakers targeted are on a large list of House Democrats the NRCC considers vulnerable in next year’s midterms.

SENATE GOP REELECTION ARM CHAIR SAYS AMERICANS ‘SCARED TO DEATH’ OVER INFLATION

Republicans have been ramping up attacks on President Biden and congressional Democrats the past couple of months over the rise in fuel and food prices, hoping to connect with frustrated voters.

The NRCC went up with a similar, modest digital ad blitz leading up to and during last month’s Independence Day holiday weekend. "Burgers, buns, propane, gas. This year your Fourth of July is more expensive because Democrats’ harmful economic policies are making everyday goods cost more," the narrator in the spots argued.

NRCC chair Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, in a new statement to Fox News, vowed that the House reelection arm is "going to ensure voters know that Democrats are responsible for the higher costs they are paying for just about everything."

The NRCC’s rival, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), pushed back against the charge that the Democrats were to blame for rising prices.

"House Republicans are making a desperate attempt to score political points after abandoning the American people by voting "NO" on the American Rescue Plan," DCCC spokesperson Chris Taylor argued. "Thanks to House Democrats, America is getting back to work, seeing record wage and job growth, and we just delivered a massive middle-class tax cut to working families in the Biden Child Tax Credit." 

More than eight in 10 Americans questioned in June in a Fox News national poll said they were very or extremely concerned about inflation. And roughly seven in 10 said that recent rises in gas and food prices were causing a hardship for their families.

83% WORRIED ABOUT INFLATION: FOX NEWS POLL

Most economists peg the collapse in prices for fuel and other commodities to a lack of demand amid the worldwide economic downturn sparked by the coronavirus pandemic, the worst pandemic to afflict the globe in a century. And many economists point to increased demand this year following the relaxing of most COVID restrictions for fueling the current rise in prices across the country.

Biden, during a White House speech two weeks, ago pledged that "my administration is doing everything we can to address" the rise in prices. But he argued that "these disruptions are temporary."

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The spike in inflation seems to be taking a political bite out of Biden. The president’s approval rating on handling the economy stood underwater at 43%-48% approval/disapproval in a Quinnipiac University national poll released Wednesday. That’s down from 48%-43% in Quinnipiac’s May survey. A president’s approval ratings are a key indicator heading into midterm elections.

The GOP needs a net gain of five seats to regain the House majority that it lost in the 2018 midterms. House Republicans have history on their side as they aim to regain control of the chamber, as the party that controls the White House on average loses roughly 25 House seats in the midterm elections following the election of a new president. And the once-in-a-decade redistricting process – pegged to the 2020 census - is also expected to generally favor Republicans over Democrats.