NRCC ad slams Malinowski, House Dems over reconciliation spending

As Democratic negotiations on federal infrastructure and reconciliation bills barrel towards a resolution this week, the National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC) has released a new ad blasting 17 House Democrats, among them Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes), for the price tag of the bills.

Script: “Sometimes, even politicians tell the truth,” the ad’s narrator says. “ [Audio clip of Joe Biden]: ‘Guess what, if you elect me, your taxes are going to be raised, not cut.’ Prices are going up, paychecks are going down. Now, Biden, Pelosi, and Tom Malinowski are going to make things worse with the biggest tax hike in decades, crushing small businesses and hurting middle-class families. Tell Tom Malinowski: we can’t afford this.”

The NRCC did not disclose how much they are paying for the ad.

The footage of Biden, which was originally taken at a rally in February 2020, was popular in Republican circles during the 2020 campaign, but as Reuters reported last September, it’s deceptively edited. Biden is referring to wealthy people who saw their taxes go down thanks to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, not to the American public writ large.

Malinowski is the only New Jersey Democrat targeted by the 17 ads, each of which is identical save for the name of the representative being lambasted.

His name is also not one that has been frequently mentioned in the context of Democratic reconciliation negotiations – unlike his colleague, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff), the leader of a moderate breakaway group that has threatened to derail the proceedings. Malinowski has proven no such thorn in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s side, other than his insistence that SALT deductions be reinstated.

Malinowski is, however, currently facing a rematch with his 2020 rival, State Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield), whom he only beat by one point last year. Given his opponent, the ongoing House Ethics Committee inquiry into his stock trading, and the uncertainty of redistricting, his race may prove to be the most competitive in the state come 2022.

Kean, who has the backing of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, faces political newcomer John Henry Iseman and 2020 U.S. Senate candidate Rik Mehta for the GOP nomination.