NE-02: Republicans Might Be Meddling In A Key Swing District Primary. Democrats Aren't Sure Why.
On Thursday, a super PAC with a minimalist paper trail began airing about $200,000 worth of ads in the Omaha, Nebraska, media market. The ad campaign tied state Sen. John Cavanaugh, who is running for the Democratic nomination to represent the area in Congress, to President Donald Trump.
The 30-second ad’s argument is laughable: Cavanaugh had introduced legislation to eliminate taxes on tips and overtime in the state, and that the proposal mirrored Trump’s. The ad claims Cavanaugh backing those proposals means he actually endorsed the entirety of Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” and “betrayed Nebraska Democrats.”
The group behind the ad, Lead Left PAC, will not have to disclose its donors until after the primary on May 12. But all signs indicate it’s a Republican effort to meddle in a Democratic primary, a tactic both parties have increasingly used in recent years: a leading Republican-aligned nonprofit, the American Action Network, ran similar ads last month, and metadata on the PAC’s website contains a link to WinRed, a GOP online fundraising platform.
Democrats in Washington and Nebraska, however, are baffled by the GOP’s apparent strategy in Nebraska’s 2nd District. GOP Rep. Don Bacon held onto the seat in 2024, even as Kamala Harris carried the district in the presidential race. Bacon’s decision to retire has turned it into a prime pickup opportunity for Democrats, who are looking to take control of the House in the 2026 midterms.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/republicans-might-be-meddling-in-a-key-swing-district-primary-democrats-arent-sure-why_n_69fe07c2e4b065a1677e0466
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