The National Republican Congressional Committee launched a digital ad attacking Rep. Andy Kim for his vote on H.R. 1, a massive 571-page bill pushing changes to a number of the country’s electoral systems.
“They’re coming for it, our money, money that belongs to us,” the ad’s narrator says. “But socialists in Congress want to take our money to pay for their own political campaigns. This is the new radical Democratic Party. Their self-serving plan could cost us billions, money that won’t be spent on education, veterans or infrastructure. It’s an assault on our way of life. Call Andy Kim. Tell him to fund his own campaign.”
The ad shows burglars dressed in business attire raiding a suburban home.
The bill provides a 6-1 match for donations of $200 or less and requires that qualifying candidates agree to decline contributions larger than $1,000.
To qualify, candidates must raise at least $50,000 in small-dollar donations from at least 1,000 donors during the qualifying period
The provision is intended to reduce the influence of high-money donors and political action committees.
Kim has pledged to refuse donations from corporate PACs, a promise he made and kept during his 2018 bid that unseated Rep. Tom MacArthur.
The fund-matching program would be funded by a fee on criminal and civil penalties.
The bill — which would also make election day a federal holiday, take redistricting away from states and hand it to independent commissions, and require presidential candidates to release their tax returns, among other things — sailed through the House, 234-193, in a vote along party lines in march.
Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), who did not vote on the bill, was the only House Democrat that did not cast an affirmative vote.
The NRCC is airing similar ads targeting other House Democrats elsewhere in the Country.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article misattributed the ad to the Congressional Leadership Fund.