Mike Pence’s Group Launches $10 Million Ad Campaign to Unseat Over a Dozen House Democrats

The political nonprofit organization run by former Vice President Mike Pence is launching a $10 million advertising campaign pressuring more than a dozen House Democrats to embrace American energy independence amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Advancing American Freedom is targeting 16 incumbent House Democrats across 11 states with a 30-second spot linking President Joe Biden’s energy agenda to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The ad, running on broadcast and cable television and digital platforms, claims Biden’s decision to accede to the demands of “radical environmentalists” and cancel the Keystone XL pipeline in the United States helped Russian strongman Vladimir Putin fund the deadly and unprovoked attack.

“It’s time for President Biden to demonstrate American strength by restarting the Keystone pipeline, restoring oil and natural gas leases, and issuing sanctions and imposing embargoes on all oil and gas exports from Russia,” Pence said in a statement.

WHAT AMERICANS THINK ABOUT GOING TO WAR

The Advancing American Freedom spot opens with scenes of a military invasion as the ad’s voice-over blames Biden’s policy of reducing domestic fossil fuel energy exploration and exports for enabling Putin by increasing U.S. imports of Russian energy. On assuming office last year, Biden reversed many of former President Donald Trump’s energy-friendly policies, which many Republicans, including Pence, Trump’s former vice president, blame for empowering Moscow’s aggression.

“Before Russian bombs began to rain on Ukraine, before hundreds of innocent Ukrainians lost their lives, a horrific decision had already been made,” the voice-over in the Advancing American Freedom ads says, as the spot opens. “Joe Biden caved to the radical environmentalists and stopped America’s Keystone pipeline and dramatically increased Americans’ dependence on Russian oil, endangering America’s security and helping Russia fund their invasion.”

The advertisement is running in media markets covering the districts held by 16 incumbent House Democrats, including Reps. Colin Allred, Henry Cuellar, Lizzie Fletcher, and Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, Rep. Kurt Schrader of Oregon, Rep. Cindy Axne of Iowa, Reps. Matt Cartwright, Chrissy Houlahan, and Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Rep. Tom O’Halleran of Arizona, Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia, Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas, and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez of New Mexico.

House Republicans are five seats shy of recapturing the majority in midterm elections, and many of these seats overlap with GOP leaders’ 2022 target list. Pence is considered a potential 2024 presidential candidate.