The party aims to portray Republicans as weak on Russia in messaging directed at Ukrainian Americans, who, while not monolithic, have leaned conservative in recent history regarding foreign policy issues. Ukrainian Americans make up a small percentage of voters, but many reside in key midterm states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Florida.
This week, Florida’s Democratic Party touted an op-ed by Ukrainian Floridians criticizing Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for missing past hearings for the Helsinki Commission, a European security group of which he is a member. Meanwhile, the Democratic super PAC, American Bridge, dolled out a five-figure, partial Ukrainian-language print ad earlier this month, bashing Republican figures for past comments on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The ad aimed at Reps.Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Ohio Senate candidates Josh Mandel and J.D. Vance, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The spot ran in cities with considerable Ukrainian American populations, including Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia.
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“This is an issue that is uniting Americans across the U.S.,” declared Jessica Floyd, President of American Bridge. “There’s a recent poll by Pew that said that only six percent of American adults are expressing confidence in Putin, and as far as we can tell, all six percent of them are either Republican candidates or elected officials.” Notably, Republicans are largely united in favor of Ukraine and against Russian President Vladimir Putin. But a small number of lawmakers or candidates have questioned the U.S.’s stance on the invasion — and Democrats were quick to highlight those remarks.
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After six House Republicans voted against a bill directing the government to collect evidence “related to war crimes and other atrocities committed during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine,” the Democratic Congressional Campaign Commission (DCCC) tweeted that “The GOP’s Pro-Putin faction is anti-democratic.”
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Ahead of that, Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) faced backlash for calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “thug.” Democrats and his Republican colleagues immediately slammed the remarks. The DCCC then sent out a blast tying Karoline Leavitt, a New Hampshire GOP House candidate endorsed by Cawthorn. And Ohio Republican Senate candidates Josh Mandel and J.D. Vance faced criticism last month for arguing that U.S. domestic policies should take precedence over the war in Ukraine.
Vance sparked outrage for what he said a few days before Russia invaded, but after Putin had amassed troops on the border, he doesn’t “really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.” He later issued a statement calling the situation in Ukraine an “unquestionable tragedy.”
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