About $6.5 million has been spent over the final 10 days of the campaign on mailers and digital ads promoting obscure third-party candidates with almost no chance of winning on Tuesday. What gives?
The material is an apparent “spoiler” effort to persuade voters who are considering backing a Republican to instead support right-wing candidates who would peel away votes from a major party nominee. The final days of campaigns often feature tactics like these, with the belief that futzing around on the margins of a race could be decisive in determining the ultimate winner.
Mailers shared with The New York Times by Mintt, a mail-tracking firm, show some of the subterfuge that appears to be at play from a super PAC called Our Heritage Matters. The PAC was registered on Oct. 15, meaning it is not required to disclose its donors until December. All of its spending has been through two Delaware limited-liability companies that themselves were formed within the last month, on Oct. 6, and have reported no other activity, according to corporate records.
In one of America’s tightest House races in Colorado, a mailer promoting Dave Wood, the Libertarian nominee, says that Representative Gabe Evans, a Republican, has a “liberal agenda” and would “join forces with Socialist Democrats.”
A nearly identical mailer interchanges those names with the Republican nominee, Jennifer Balkcom, and the Libertarian candidate, Travis Groo, in North Carolina’s 11th District.
Our Heritage Matters is also spending to influence voters in Senate races. Michele Tafoya, the Republican nominee for Senate in Minnesota, is also accused of having a “liberal agenda.” Another mailer from the group calls Mark Hackett, the Constitution Party candidate for Senate in South Carolina, “the true conservative” in the race.
On its website, Our Heritage Matters says: “American culture, values, and traditions are worth defending. We stand for the principles that built this nation — and we will not stand by while they are eroded by enemies foreign and domestic.”
The group did not respond to a request for comment.
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