The GOP is reviving a viral attack ad. This time, Democrats are fighting back.

Republicans are reviving their 2024 "they/them" slogan, and AdImpact reports that the party and its allies have spent more than $40 million on versions of it this year. What differs now is that Democrats, unlike Kamala Harris in 2024, are answering back, which reflects a changed party posture on transgender issues, according to MS NOW.

The biggest spender is a committee backing Texas Senate nominee Ken Paxton, with $20 million aimed at James Talarico over gender-affirming care for minors and another $17 million on a similar spot. Neither mentions Paxton, and Politifact found the claim about taxpayer-funded surgeries was not true. Talarico responded with a $4.3 million ad denying he backs such surgeries for children. In Alaska, Mary Peltola answered a No Going Back PAC campaign, backed by more than $3.8 million, with a far cheaper ad of her own.

Strategist Drew Westen told MS NOW that such slogans fade with age, and with Republicans controlling Washington, price worries are harder to pin on Democrats. Tyler Hack of the Christopher Street Project said the 2024 ad succeeded because no one countered it.

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →