Getting in the (literal) swamp: Corruption becomes a $275 million fight in the midterm ad wars

Reuters/Getty Images

Candidates are trading accusations of being beholden to big donors, debating who wants to restrict congressional stock trading more and running ads in which they stand in literal swamps .

Fighting corruption has emerged as one of the biggest issues of the midterms, shaping battleground races from coast to coast, bolstering Democrats’ focus on lowering the cost of living and extending to other hot-button issues, such as data centers and Jeffrey Epstein.

More than $275 million has been spent on ads about corruption this election cycle, according to AdImpact, with Democrats accounting for about $173 million and Republicans for roughly $93 million.

“I think it’s as big of an anti-corruption election as we have seen, at least since 2006,” said Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United, a Democratic group that supports campaign finance reform. She added she has been struck by the “size and scale and scope of the anti-corruption messaging we’re seeing.”

Democrats are optimistic they can win the House majority — and even control of the Senate — with an anti-corruption message. But Republicans are also responding to voter concerns about corruption, zeroing in on candidate-specific scandals, welfare fraud controversies and touting their support for limiting congressional stock trading, even as Democrats criticize their proposal as inadequate.

“I just think that fraud, waste and corruption are bigger issues today than at any point in my life, and I think there are some reasons behind it,” said Shad White, the Republican state auditor of Mississippi and a potential candidate for governor next year. “One is that the government is massive and spends more money than ever before.”

In polling, corruption has become one of the top issues for voters after the cost of living, sometimes leapfrogging economic issues altogether. And while voters strongly disapprove of President Donald Trump’s handling of the issue, they’re more divided on which party they trust to root out corruption, creating an opening for both sides in the final days of the midterms.

Campaign operatives acknowledge that many voters see all politicians as corrupt, so they need to give them more of a reason to be concerned. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll released this week, voters were divided when asked which party was stronger on the issue of corruption, with 31% picking Democrats and 26% saying Republicans. Thirty percent said they did not know.

To that end, a number of high-profile Democratic candidates have worked to directly tie corruption to the high cost of living, another leading issue for voters.

“This corruption is why nothing works for ordinary people,” Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Georgia) said at a recent rally in the Atlanta area. “It’s why you pay a fortune for prescriptions. It’s why your insurance company gets away with denying your cancer treatment.”

The focus on corruption has also given Democrats an opportunity to compete for voters who were swayed a decade ago by Trump’s promise to “drain the swamp.” An array of colorful ads help illustrate the strategy.

From Andrews for SC Senate

From Cognetti for PA CD-08

“They call Washington, DC, a swamp. I like ours better. It’s a lot cleaner than the mess in Washington,” says Paige Cognetti, the Democrat in Pennsylvania’s battleground 8th District, in an ad where she stands ankle-deep in Lackawanna County’s Corby Swamp. Democrat Annie Andrews, running in South Carolina’s unexpectedly competitive Senate race against incumbent Sen. Darline Graham, has her own standing-in-a-swamp ad as well.

In a Fox News poll conducted earlier this month, 60% of voters said they were “extremely” concerned about corruption, more than those who said the same about inflation (58%) and gas prices (50%).

Presenting lawmakers with new polling in September, Groundwork Action, a progressive organization, walked lawmakers through two national surveys from the spring in which participants agreed that tackling corruption was key to making life more affordable.

“Rising on the list was corruption, and honestly, it was talked about even in a way that I haven’t heard members of Congress talking about it. So, the public seems to be a little ahead on this,” Rep. Mark Pocan, a Wisconsin Democrat who was in the meeting, told CNN. “People are plugged into it but also plugging into that it impacts them directly.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was already picking up on the potency of the issue as he prepared a speech to mark 100 days out from the election.

“Tackling the affordability crisis alone will not be enough,” Jeffries said in the Pennsylvania speech. Democrats, he added, also would “hold the crooks accountable.”

Now, End Citizens United is ending the cycle with more than 300 candidates signed on to its anti-corruption platform. That’s about more than double the backers the platform had in previous cycles, Muller said.

In the Texas Senate race, Democrat James Talarico has had an especially high bar to clear to galvanize voters around corruption. His Republican opponent, Ken Paxton, has persevered politically despite over a decade of scandals. While Talarico brands Paxton as the “most corrupt politician in Texas,” he also connects it to affordability, saying Texans “cannot afford Ken Paxton’s corruption.”

In one ad, Talarico walks through a data center construction site while arguing how Paxton paved the way for it through his votes in the state legislature and campaign contributions he’s received.

“Data centers bankroll Paxton, they get tax breaks and you get stuck with the bill,” Talarico says.

Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images

Former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, attempting a comeback against Republican Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio, has also made data center deals a focal point of his campaign. He and his allies have run multiple ads calling Husted the “face of data centers” in Ohio, the attacks so persistent that the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm released a memo describing them as an “anchor hanging around Husted’s neck.”

Democratic anti-corruption arguments have been made through the lens of other issues, including the release of the Epstein files. In another competitive Senate race in Iowa, GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson has been criticized for campaign contributions from individuals mentioned in the Epstein files – a frequent attack line in campaign ads this year.

By far, though, stock trading has fueled the fiercest fights over corruption in the midterms.

Despite widespread support for an outright ban on congressional stock trading, Republicans sidelined a bipartisan prohibition to instead pass a narrower restrictions bill in July tied to a partisan election overhaul . Now they’re using it as a wedge against Democrats in the midterms.

“It figures that Shomari voted to continue allowing his Washington friends to buy stocks,” goes an ad from a Trump-linked super PAC targeting Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures in a contentious Alabama congressional race.

In New Jersey’s 7th District, Democrat Rebecca Bennett has long staked her campaign on criticism of GOP Rep. Tom Kean Jr.’s stock trading, especially because he originally won his seat in 2022 by scrutinizing then-Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski’s transactions.

Kean promised in 2022 to put his assets in a blind trust if elected, though he says he had to opt for an alternative “blind structure” after the House Ethics Committee balked at limits he wanted to place on managers’ trades. He has touted that as evidence of his integrity, noting he did not want managers to invest in companies with ties to the United States’ foreign enemies.

“It’s something I’ve heard from the very beginning of the campaign,” Bennett told CNN. “For me, when I started running, I got rid of all my individual stocks because I just want people to know I mean what I say, practice what I preach.”

The issue fueled a heated exchange during a recent debate. An audience member loudly laughed when Kean claimed he has not traded stocks as a lawmaker, and when Bennett sought to rebut him, another audience member yelled out, “You’re a liar!”

Republicans argue they have stayed competitive with Democrats on the issue, even if their emphasis is not as intense.

“Corruption is usually a supporting argument,” Republican strategist Drew Nirenberg said. “It can work if there’s an actual victim, or if it ties into a bigger case against the candidate. But folks mostly vote on stuff they feel day to day, and they’re generally pretty jaded about politicians anyway.”

Some Republicans have had to play defense on corruption, perhaps most notably Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins. Collins has strenuously denied a September report from ProPublica that outlined an alleged pay-to-play scheme involving her office and a defense contractor. Her allies have fired back with claims of corruption against her Democratic opponent Troy Jackson, citing his son’s job as a lobbyist. He’s denied any wrongdoing.

Gregory A. Rec/Pool/Portland Press Herald/AP/File

Other Republicans have been proactive, seizing on their opponents’ unique perceived vulnerabilities.

According to AdImpact, the most-aired Republican ad mentioning corruption this cycle is from Rick Jackson, who is running for Georgia governor. The spot accuses his Democratic opponent, Keisha Lance Bottoms, of using her time as Atlanta mayor to enrich her political allies, citing a city contractor and Bottoms donor who was sentenced to five years in prison in 2023 for bribing city officials.

“Sky-high corruption, fleecing taxpayers at the bottom,” a narrator concludes in the spot. “If Bottoms is governor, she’ll do it again.”

In Texas’ 15th District, Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz is running an ad that seeks to address concerns about corruption by railing against the “compadre system” of patronage in South Texas, saying she’s fighting a form of it in Washington.

The ad does not even mention her Democratic opponent, Tejano music star Bobby Pulido, but flashes the word “corruption” across the screen three times.

CNN’s Annie Grayer contributed to this story.

路透社/盖蒂图片社

候选人互相指责对方受制于大金主，辩论谁更想限制国会议员的股票交易，并投放广告，让自己置身于真正的沼泽之中。

打击腐败已成为中期选举中最重要的问题之一，影响着从东海岸到西海岸的激烈选战，也促使民主党人更加关注降低生活成本，并扩展到其他热点问题，例如数据中心和杰弗里·爱泼斯坦。

据 AdImpact 统计，本届选举周期中，有关腐败的广告支出已超过 2.75 亿美元，其中民主党人约占 1.73 亿美元，共和党人约占 9300 万美元。

“我认为这是自2006年以来规模最大的反腐败选举，”支持竞选资金改革的民主党团体“终结公民联合会”（End Citizens United）主席蒂芙尼·穆勒（Tiffany Muller）表示。她补充说，她对“我们所看到的反腐败宣传的规模、范围和力度”感到震惊。

民主党人乐观地认为，凭借反腐败的竞选纲领，他们能够赢得众议院多数席位，甚至掌控参议院。但共和党人也在积极回应选民对腐败的担忧，他们重点攻击候选人的丑闻、福利欺诈争议，并大力宣传他们支持限制国会议员股票交易的政策，尽管民主党人批评他们的提议力度不够。

“我认为，如今的欺诈、浪费和腐败问题比我记忆中的任何时候都更加严重，而且我认为这背后是有原因的，”密西西比州共和党审计长、明年州长候选人沙德·怀特说道，“其中一个原因是，政府规模庞大，支出也比以往任何时候都多。”

民调显示，腐败问题已成为选民最关心的问题之一，仅次于生活成本，有时甚至超过了经济问题。尽管选民强烈不满特朗普总统处理腐败问题的方式，但他们对于哪个政党更有能力根除腐败却存在分歧，这为中期选举的最后阶段双方都创造了机会。

竞选人员承认，许多选民认为所有政客都腐败，因此他们需要给选民更多理由感到担忧。本周公布的路透社/益普索民调显示，当被问及哪个政党在反腐败问题上更胜一筹时，选民意见分歧，31%的人选择民主党，26%的人选择共和党，另有30%的人表示不清楚。

为此，一些备受瞩目的民主党候选人努力将腐败与高昂的生活成本直接联系起来，而生活成本高昂也是选民关注的另一个主要问题。

“正是这种腐败导致普通民众的生活一团糟，”佐治亚州民主党参议员乔恩·奥索夫在最近于亚特兰大地区举行的一次集会上说。“这就是为什么你们要花一大笔钱买处方药。这就是为什么你们的保险公司可以肆意拒绝支付你们的癌症治疗费用。”

对腐败问题的关注也让民主党有机会争取那些十年前被特朗普“排干沼泽”承诺所打动的选民。一系列色彩鲜艳的广告有助于阐明这一策略。

来自安德鲁斯的南卡罗来纳州参议员竞选

来自 Cognetti 的 PA CD-08

“他们把华盛顿特区称为沼泽。我更喜欢我们这儿。这里比华盛顿那堆烂摊子干净多了。”宾夕法尼亚州第八选区民主党候选人佩奇·科涅蒂在一则广告中说道。这片选区是宾夕法尼亚州的关键摇摆选区。广告中，她站在拉克瓦纳县科比沼泽的深水里，水深及踝。在南卡罗来纳州竞争异常激烈的参议员选举中，民主党候选人安妮·安德鲁斯也制作了一则站在沼泽里的竞选广告，挑战现任参议员达琳·格雷厄姆。

福克斯新闻本月早些时候进行的一项民意调查显示，60% 的选民表示他们“非常”担心腐败问题，这一比例高于对通货膨胀（58%）和汽油价格（50%）表示同样担忧的选民。

9 月份，进步组织 Groundwork Action 向立法者们提交了新的民意调查结果，并向立法者们介绍了春季的两项全国性调查，调查参与者一致认为，打击腐败是降低生活成本的关键。

“腐败问题在讨论中排名上升，说实话，就连国会议员都没怎么谈及过这个问题。所以，公众似乎在这方面比我更了解情况，”参加会议的威斯康星州民主党众议员马克·波坎告诉CNN。“人们不仅关注这个问题，也关注它与自身利益的直接关系。”

众议院少数党领袖哈基姆·杰弗里斯在准备纪念大选100天的演讲时，就已经意识到了这个问题的重要性。

杰弗里斯在宾夕法尼亚州的演讲中表示：“仅仅解决住房负担能力危机是不够的。”他还补充说，民主党人也会“追究那些骗子的责任”。

穆勒表示，如今，“终结公民联合会”组织已拥有超过300名候选人签署其反腐败纲领，结束了本轮选举周期。这一数字大约是该纲领前几轮支持者数量的两倍多。

在德克萨斯州参议员竞选中，民主党候选人詹姆斯·塔拉里科面临着一项艰巨的任务：如何才能让选民真正关注腐败问题。他的共和党对手肯·帕克斯顿尽管丑闻缠身十余年，却依然在政坛屹立不倒。塔拉里科称帕克斯顿是“德克萨斯州最腐败的政客”，同时他也强调了民众的负担能力，称德克萨斯州民众“负担不起肯·帕克斯顿的腐败”。

在其中一则广告中，塔拉里科走过一个数据中心建设工地，同时辩称帕克斯顿通过在州议会的投票和收到的竞选捐款为该项目铺平了道路。

“数据中心为帕克斯顿公司提供资金，他们享受税收优惠，而你却要承担账单，”塔拉里科说。

Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images

前民主党参议员谢罗德·布朗试图在俄亥俄州挑战共和党参议员乔恩·赫斯特，他也将数据中心交易作为竞选的重点。他和他的盟友投放了多则广告，称赫斯特是俄亥俄州“数据中心的代言人”。这些攻击如此猛烈，以至于参议院共和党竞选部门发布了一份备忘录，将其形容为“赫斯特脖子上挂着的沉重枷锁”。

民主党的反腐论点往往从其他议题入手，例如爱泼斯坦档案的公开。在爱荷华州另一场竞争激烈的参议院选举中，共和党众议员阿什利·欣森因接受爱泼斯坦档案中提及人士的竞选捐款而受到批评——这已成为今年竞选广告中常见的攻击点。

然而，就目前来看，股票交易才是中期选举中反腐斗争最为激烈的根源。

尽管广泛支持彻底禁止国会议员进行股票交易，但共和党人搁置了这项两党共同支持的禁令，转而在7月份通过了一项范围更窄的限制法案，该法案与一项党派选举改革挂钩。现在，他们正利用这项法案在期中选举中打击民主党。

“不出所料，肖马里投票支持继续允许他在华盛顿的朋友们购买股票，”一个与特朗普有关联的超级政治行动委员会针对民主党众议员肖马里·弗格森在阿拉巴马州一场激烈的国会竞选中投放的广告这样写道。

在新泽西州第七选区，民主党人丽贝卡·贝内特长期以来一直将竞选的重点放在批评共和党众议员汤姆·基恩二世的股票交易上，尤其因为他最初在 2022 年通过审查当时的民主党众议员汤姆·马利诺夫斯基的交易而赢得了席位。

基恩在2022年承诺，如果当选，他将把自己的资产放入一个盲信托。但他表示，由于众议院道德委员会反对他提出的限制基金经理交易的方案，他不得不选择另一种“盲信托结构”。他以此作为自己正直的证明，并指出他不希望基金经理投资于与美国敌对国家有关联的公司。

“从竞选一开始我就听到过这种说法，”贝内特告诉CNN。“对我来说，当我开始竞选时，我抛售了所有个股，因为我只想让人们知道我言行一致，说到做到。”

在最近的一次辩论中，这个问题引发了激烈的争论。当基恩声称他作为立法者从未进行过股票交易时，一位观众大声笑了；而当贝内特试图反驳他时，另一位观众喊道：“你撒谎！”

共和党人辩称，尽管他们对该问题的重视程度不如民主党人，但他们在该问题上仍然保持着竞争力。

共和党策略师德鲁·尼伦伯格表示：“腐败通常只是辅助论点。如果有实际受害者，或者与针对候选人的更严重指控相关，那么腐败论点或许有效。但人们投票主要依据的是他们日常的感受，而且他们通常对政客已经相当失望了。”

一些共和党人不得不为腐败指控进行辩护，其中最引人注目的是缅因州共和党参议员苏珊·柯林斯。柯林斯强烈否认了ProPublica九月份发布的一份报告，该报告概述了她办公室与一家国防承包商之间涉嫌的权钱交易。她的盟友则反击，指控她的民主党对手特洛伊·杰克逊腐败，并指出他的儿子是一名游说者。杰克逊否认有任何不当行为。

格雷戈里·A·雷克/Pool/波特兰新闻先驱报/美联社/档案

其他共和党人则采取了积极主动的策略，抓住对手身上人们认为的独特弱点。

据AdImpact统计，本轮选举周期中，共和党候选人里克·杰克逊（Rick Jackson）发布的提及腐败问题最多的竞选广告来自佐治亚州州长竞选团队。该广告指责其民主党对手凯莎·兰斯·博顿斯（Keisha Lance Bottoms）利用其担任亚特兰大市长期间的职务之便，为其政治盟友谋取私利。广告中还提到，一位曾向博顿斯捐款的市政承包商因贿赂市政官员，于2023年被判处五年监禁。

广告片中旁白总结道：“腐败猖獗，底层民众却在榨取纳税人的钱财。如果博特姆斯继续担任州长，她还会重蹈覆辙。”

在德克萨斯州第 15 选区，共和党众议员莫妮卡·德拉克鲁兹 (Monica De La Cruz) 正在投放一则广告，试图通过抨击德克萨斯州南部的“恩庇教父制度”来解决人们对腐败的担忧，并表示她正在华盛顿与这种制度作斗争。

这则广告甚至没有提到她的民主党对手、德州音乐明星鲍比·普利多，却在屏幕上闪现了三次“腐败”一词。

CNN的安妮·格雷尔对本文亦有贡献。