DCCC to Republican House candidates: ‘Stop hiding’ on Ryan budget

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is pressuring Republican House candidates to take a position on Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) budget.

{mosads}According to details shared first with The Hill, the committee will send hard copies of the budget to 39 candidates in 24 districts who haven’t yet said whether they support the blueprint in hopes of getting them on-record either supporting or opposing it.

Along with the hard-copy of the budget, the DCCC is sending a cover letter that reads:

Dear Lee Zeldin:

We know you want to be part of Republicans in Congress, but we heard you weren’t sure about how you would vote on their central idea: the Republican budget that stacks the deck for special interests at the expense of hardworking families. We enclosed a copy for your convenience, so that you can finally get back to the people of New York on your position.

Sincerely,

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

Lee Zeldin is one of two Republican candidates vying for the chance to take on Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.) this fall, one of the Republicans’ top targets.

Democrats believe the Ryan budget will be a political winner for them this cycle because they say it’s harmful to the middle class and note it cuts popular programs like Medicare.

They’ve already launched an offensive campaign, called “Battleground Middle Class,” to publicize what they see as the negative effects of the budget in a number of competitive districts nationwide.

That argument is tougher to make, however, against Republican candidates who haven’t had to take a vote on the bill, which passed the House last week with broad support from Republicans.

Though some GOP candidates have gone on-record taking a position on the budget, many, when asked, said they hadn’t read or had the time to fully evaluate the bill. Zeldin is one; state Rep. Adam Kwasman and rancher Gary Kiehne, running against Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.), are others. Many more have yet to weigh in.

DCCC spokesman Josh Schwerin said in a statement that sending the budget to the 39 candidates will ensure they “stop hiding.”

“Lee Zeldin is throwing out a lot of excuses about why he won’t weigh in on the Washington Republican budget – but now he can finally stop hiding because he will have a copy at his fingertips,” he said.

“In 102 simple pages, this budget lays out in gory detail how it stacks the deck for special interests while raising costs on people who have to work for a living – now all Zeldin has to do is read it and come clean about how he would vote.”