DES MOINES, Iowa – Last week, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) released a 15-second digital ad in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District targetting U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, over inflation.
Axne is one of 15 members of Congress that the NRCC is targeting with a similar ad.
“Inflation is a tax on every single American and is a direct result of Democrats’ reckless spending. We are going to ensure voters know that Democrats are responsible for the higher costs they are paying for just about everything,” NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer said in a released statement.
On Wednesday, the American Action Network (AAN) released their new ad campaign running television and digital advertising in 21 congressional districts, including Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District.
Their ad targeting Axne spotlights rising prices hitting families, trillions in new spending, and new taxes accompanying spending increases.
“Inflation is already stretching families’ paychecks thinner than ever, and now Nancy Pelosi and her allies are running to take even more from their wallets with enormous tax increases and trillions for their far-left political priorities,” AAN President Dan Conston said in a released statement. “Liberal policies have brought disastrous consequences for workers from rising prices to a crippling labor shortage, the last thing we need are tax hikes that further hurt the economy and a takeover of the prescription drug market.”
Axne last month downplayed inflation concerns at a town hall meeting in Ankeny.
“So what’s happening is inflation is based on year over year. Obviously, last year was a real different year in America. So when you compare any numbers against the previous year, it’s going to look a heck of a lot different. No economists worth their salt has said we’re looking at a long-term inflation problem in any way, shape, or form. What we’re looking at is an economy that’s doing really well. And if we continue to move forward with the jobs and in the training to fill the jobs that really people are looking to get filled, trade schools apprenticeship program for, you know, our construction, jobs, etc. Two-year programming jobs, etc. We’re going to continue to see this economy boom,” she told The Iowa Torch.
Voters may not be as convinced.
An NRCC internal poll of battleground states released in late July shows that seven out of ten voters express “high levels of concern” over rising prices.
AAN’s battleground polling in June found Americans’ top concerns were related to inflation: Rising cost of living (88 percent worried), inflation (86 percent worried), and rising gas prices (79 percent worried).
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on July 28 stated that the risk of inflation “could turn out to be higher and more persistent than we expected” following the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep the interest rate unchanged.
“As the reopening continues, bottlenecks, hiring difficulties, and other constraints could continue to limit how quickly supply can adjust, raising the possibility that inflation could turn out to be higher and more persistent than we expected,” he said.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday that the Consumer Price Index increased 0.5 percent in July on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.9 percent in June. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 5.4 percent before seasonal adjustment. The index for all items less food and energy rose 4.3 percent over the previous 12 months, while the energy index rose 23.8 percent. The food index increased 3.4 percent for the 12 months ending July, compared to a 2.4-percent rise for the period ending June.
