"A costly GOP win: Van Epps' victory pushes the Republican majority in the House to 220-214, but required a multimillion-dollar ad campaign to keep the seat former Rep. Mark Green (R) vacated last summer. For Republicans, the result echoed the GOP's underperformance in Florida's special House elections earlier this year and came a month after blowouts in New Jersey's and Virginia's races for governor."
"Behn, who campaigned with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), was hit with millions of dollars' worth of attack ads highlighting past comments like calling herself "radical" and boasting about "bullying the ICE vehicles." The GOP's bet that those controversial remarks would activate some of the district's MAGA base in an off-year election was proven right. On Tuesday, some moderate Democrats privately and publicly argued a more centrist candidate might have won, or come closer to it,"
Republicans retained a House seat when Van Epps' victory pushed the House majority to 220-214 after a multimillion-dollar ad campaign to hold a seat vacated by Mark Green. The result resembled GOP underperformance in recent special elections and followed gubernatorial blowouts in New Jersey and Virginia. Democrat Behn faced heavy attack ads highlighting past "radical" remarks and ICE comments, which the GOP used to mobilize MAGA voters. Some moderate Democrats argued a centrist candidate might have fared better. Taxation and affordability were the dominant themes in campaign ads amid voter concern about inflation and cost of living.
#house-special-election #campaign-spending-and-ads #democratic-strategy-debate #affordability-and-taxation
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