Pennsylvania Voters Reject Republicans’ Devastating Tax Plan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 
Wednesday, March 14, 2018

PRESS CONTACT:
press@notonepenny.org

Washington, D.C. — Last night, Pennsylvania voters resoundingly rejected Republican efforts to sell the GOP tax bill in a district that voted for Donald Trump by almost 20 points in the last presidential election. While Republican donors and special interest groups spent millions on ads touting the TrumpTax ahead of the election, they abandoned campaigning on their only legislative achievement in the final days as the bill grew even more unpopular. What’s clear is that voters across the country are ready to deliver their message to Republicans this November: giving tax breaks to wealthy corporations and individuals at the expense of working families will cost Republicans at the ballot box.

Here’s what they are saying:

Politico: “Republicans abandon tax cut message in Pa. special election”

• Politico: “Republicans backed away from their signature tax-cut law in the final days of a closely watched special House election in the Pittsburgh suburbs — even though it’s the very accomplishment on which they had banked their midterm election hopes.”

Business Insider: “The Pennsylvania special election shows that the GOP’s signature issue may not help Republicans in the midterms”

• Business Insider: “The centerpiece of the GOP midterm strategy didn’t appear to make a dent in the special election in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, and that should worry Republicans. The recently implemented tax law that was championed by Republicans is expected to be a central part of the midterm message for the party. But according to a report from Politico, the party largely abandoned the message in the final days before the election in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District.”

Los Angeles Times: “After embarrassing election in Pennsylvania, Republicans wonder whether tax cuts will save them in November”

• LA Times: “The most dangerous outcome for Republicans in Tuesday’s special House election is not the prospect of a Democrat taking over one of their seats. It was the shrugging off by voters of the party’s biggest legislative achievement: the tax cut measure that Republicans hoped would be their major campaign message as they head toward a turbulent midterm election.”

Washington Post: “Pennsylvania special election shows GOP still hasn’t found a winning midterms message”

• Washington Post: “Republicans tried to run on the tax cuts, which they’ve promised for months will be the centerpiece of their 2018 messaging. Commercials highlighted Lamb’s opposition to reform and relief for the middle class. When these spots didn’t move the needle, GOP groups stopped talking about them.”

Bloomberg: “Pennsylvania Sends Tough Message to Republicans”

• Bloomberg: “The outcome also may undercut Republican hopes that tax cuts passed by the Republican Congress in December will resonate with voters. In the final week of the Pennsylvania campaign, the poll-tested Republican advertising campaign downplayed taxes and stressed social issues like immigration and crime.”

The Atlantic: “Conor Lamb Chips Away at Trump’s Coalition”

• The Atlantic: “Saccone and the outside party groups that blanketed the district with ads failed to move many voters by touting the GOP tax bill, which Republicans have viewed as their best opportunity for recapturing straying suburbanites.”

Washington Post: “Three big takeaways from Trump’s humiliating Pennsylvania failure”

• Washington Post: “The Trump/GOP agenda may be a big albatross for Republicans. Republicans had banked heavily on selling their tax cuts to voters as proof that they’re getting things done for working- and middle-class people. But in the final days, Republicans dialed down their messaging about the tax cuts, because it wasn’t working.”

Joy Reid, MSNBC, 3/13/18: “One more thing: if Conor Lamb does pull this out, he will have beaten a Republican in a Republican district by running against repealing Obamacare, against the Trump-Ryan millionaire tax cuts, and foursquare for unions. That’s a basket of bad signs for the GOP in November.”

Jennifer Granholm, CNN, 3/13/18: “Important that in March, Rs stopped showing ads in PA touting the R tax cuts; 2/3 of the ads were about the tax cut in Feb.  People just didn’t see impact in paychecks, and thought big cuts went to corps and top 1%. Midterm R message will then be?”

# # #