Republicans ran 13,000 ads against Hillary Clinton — this year


Republicans really can't quit Hillary. Yes, Hillary Clinton retired from electoral politics after losing the Electoral College to President Trump in 2016, but GOP candidates and allied groups keep on running against her. From Jan. 1 to April 24, Republicans ran 12,864 ads on TV mentioning Clinton or showing her photo, USA Today reports, citing data from Kantar Media's Campaign Media Analysis Group. More than 5,000 of those ads were from Ohio's GOP gubernatorial primary, and 3,751 were aired by Republicans running to face Sen. Joe Manchin (D) in West Virginia.
It isn't a bad strategy, says Jennifer Duffy at the Cook Political Report. "The end goal is to taint somebody as not conservative enough, and there are limited ways to do that." Other "unpopular" Democrats include former President Barack Obama, featured in 18,971 GOP ads this year, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who appears in 9,721 Republican ads. Luckily for Republicans, Pelosi said Tuesday she will run for House speaker if Democrats win the House this fall. ("It's important that it not be five white guys at the table, no offense," Pelosi told The Boston Globe.)
But if you live in a state where Trump won bigly in 2016, you can expect to see a lot of Clinton on your TV set this fall, Duffy told USA Today. Or you could stick with Netflix.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
You can read Paul Waldman's theory about the GOP's Hillary strategy at The Week.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
How much should doctors trust parental intuition?
In The Spotlight Study finds parents' concern can be better at spotting critical illness than vital signs
-
How to go on your own Race Across the World
The Week Recommends The BBC hit show is inspiring fans to choose low-budget adventures
-
The rebirth of Monaco
The Week Recommends The billionaires' playground is pulling out all the stops to entice Gen Z
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges