The ever-growing list of special election wins and over-performances by Democrats should already have Republicans on red alert this election cycle.
But there’s a new indicator that Republicans are running scared, at least in Virginia, home to a key gubernatorial election and 100 House of Delegates races this fall. Daily Kos has gotten its hands on hard evidence that Republicans are going to extreme lengths to conceal their party ID in their own campaign literature that they’re sending out to voters.
Republican Del. Joseph Yost is a three-term incumbent in a Southwest Virginia district that includes several rural communities. His Democratic challenger is first-time candidate (and Daily Kos endorsee) Chris Hurst.
Of the 63 GOP House members running for re-election in Virginia this fall, Yost is the first to drop direct mail in his district. This alone indicates that Yost is worried about keeping his seat, but it’s the content of the mail piece that actually reveals just how concerned he is.
In fact, based on this piece, a voter would be hard-pressed to discern which party Yost even belongs to.
Check it out for yourself. Can you spot the word “Republican”?
You can support Yost’s opponent by donating $3 to the Chris Hurst campaign today.
How about here?
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a Republican mail piece work so hard to prevent the reader from knowing the party of the candidate it’s advertising. In fact, the only hint of Yost’s party membership is buried in the mailing label, where a disclosure of who paid for the mailer (in this case, the Virginia GOP) is required by law:
The word “Republican” appears nowhere else. While Yost touts himself as someone who “isn’t afraid to vote against his own party in the General Assembly,” he apparently is afraid of folks knowing that he’s referring to the Republican Party.
The mailer goes on to describe some of Yost’s policy positions—including some conspicuously Democratic-sounding priorities like “Public Education,” “Mental Health,” and fighting a pipeline slated to traverse his district. He even prominently touts an award he got once from the Virginia Education Association (an organization more closely associated with supporting Democrats). The most Republican-sounding thing in the whole mail piece is his support of “small businesses” and a mention that the Virginia Chamber of Commerce gave him an award once.
Yost is attempting to sell himself as a more middle-of-the-road lawmaker, but his actual record reveals that he’s no moderate. Yost voted to defund Planned Parenthood and also voted for the infamous transvaginal ultrasound bill in 2013. He’s supported bills that allow guns on school grounds and has opposed efforts to expand Medicaid.
At this point in the election cycle, campaigns have typically polled their constituents at least once or twice, and Yost’s mail piece is evidence that voters in the 12th House District aren’t digging the Republican brand right now. Although this district hasn’t elected a Democrat to the state House this decade, Hillary Clinton did narrowly carry it, 48-45. Flipping this seat won’t be easy, but Yost’s mail piece is a solid indicator that it’s definitely doable.