在选举日前的最后冲刺阶段，共和党在竞选资金方面占据巨大优势，但POLITICO的一项新民意调查显示，他们尚未成功吸引选民的注意。超过70%的受访者表示，在过去一周内，他们看到支持民主党的广告更多，或两党广告数量相当——这些广告涵盖电视、社交媒体或其他任何平台。仅有24%的受访者表示看到支持共和党的广告更多。
Republicans have a massive campaign cash advantage going into the final stretch before Election Day, but a new POLITICO poll shows they aren’t yet capturing voters’ attention. More than 70% of poll respondents who had seen ads said they’d either seen more spots in support of Democrats or an equal amount between the parties over the past week — including ads on television, social media, or any other platform. Only 24% said they’d seen more ads for Republicans.
考虑到在竞选最后几个月，与共和党相关的团体所持有的现金是民主党对手的三倍，这一数据尤为引人注目。这一数字还包括唐纳德·特朗普总统的MAGA Inc.超级政治行动委员会（super PAC）在夏季报告的4亿美元竞选资金，而民主党方面并无同等规模的资金。为了抵消对民主党有利的政治环境，共和党在中期选举前的最后几周里，正竭力在关键摇摆州，甚至一些深红色选区，密集投放共和党信息。
The numbers are striking considering Republican-aligned groups had triple the amount of cash on hand compared to their Democratic rivals going into the final months of the campaign. That figure includes the $400 million war chest that President Donald Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC reported over the summer, for which Dems have no equivalent. Republicans have been racing to saturate key battlegrounds — and even some deep-red districts and states — with GOP messages in the final weeks before the midterms to counterbalance the favorable political environment for Democrats.
共和党广告投入可能收效甚微的原因之一，或许在于广告费率：来自活跃个人筹款人的直接竞选账户——例如佐治亚州参议员乔恩·奥索夫或得克萨斯州参议员候选人詹姆斯·塔拉里科——能够以更低的价格购买广告。时机也可能是另一个原因：特朗普的超级政治行动委员会直到最近几周才开始通过附属团体购买广告，而当时临近选举，广告费率已经高企。
One reason GOP ad dollars could be getting less bang for their buck may lie in ad rates: direct campaign accounts from prolific individual fundraisers — Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff or Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, for example — can buy ads at cheaper rates. Timing may be another reason: Trump’s super PAC waited until recent weeks to start buying ads through affiliate groups, when rates were already high close to the election.
共和党竞选策略师兼Maven Advocacy Partners总裁杰夫·伯顿在接受采访时表示：“正是竞争将（广告）费率推高到了如此荒谬的水平，而当超级政治行动委员会在临近选举时才开始投放广告，其劣势甚至超过了两倍。”伯顿表示，共和党候选人需要重新思考支出策略，才能在最后阶段吸引选民的注意。
“It’s competition that drives [rates] up to these ridiculous amounts, and then when super PACs come in late with these reservations, it’s even more than a two times disadvantage,” Jeff Burton, GOP campaign strategist and president of Maven Advocacy Partners said in an interview. Burton said Republican candidates will need to rethink spending strategies to catch voters’ attention in the final stretch.
不过，他表示，拥有资金优势或许只能帮助候选人走一段路，并提到了密歇根州的阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德和德克萨斯州的肯·帕克斯顿在各自初选中克服的巨额支出差距。“我认为，你会看到许多竞选团队开始多样化策略，为基层活动付费，并通过不同媒介尝试接触选民，”伯顿说道。此次民调由PF Global于10月3日至5日通过在线调查美国成年人完成。
Still, having a cash advantage might only take some so far, he said, citing the massive outspending Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed and Texas’ Ken Paxton overcame in their respective primaries. “I think you’ll see a lot of these campaigns diversifying, paying for grassroots, paying for different mediums to try to reach voters,” Burton said. The poll was conducted by surveying U.S. adults online between Oct. 3-5 with PF Global.
我们还在关注的其他动态：——爱荷华州首场活动：民主党人要求共和党向杰克·史密斯道歉——参议院司法委员会的民主党人正要求委员会主席查克·格拉斯利代表共和党委员会成员及参议员埃里克·施密特，向前特别检察官杰克·史密斯致歉。POLITICO独家获得的该委员会民主党人致共和党人的信函还要求格拉斯利移交施密特上个月用来对史密斯提出虚假指控的相关记录。
What else we’re watching: — FIRST IN IC: DEMS WANT A GOP APOLOGY TO JACK SMITH — Senate Judiciary Democrats are asking chair Chuck Grassley to issue an apology to former special counsel Jack Smith on behalf of GOP committee members and Sen. Eric Schmitt. A letter from committee Democrats to Republicans, obtained exclusively by POLITICO also demands Grassley turn over the underlying records Schmitt used last month to levy false allegations against Smith of secretly attending an NBA game in Atlanta to conspire with local prosecutors about convicting Trump. — HILL LOBBIES FOR UKRAINIANS IN U.S. — Lawmakers afraid the Trump administration will cancel protections for Ukrainian seeking refuge in the U.S. want the president to consider another option: Do nothing.
施密特指控史密斯秘密前往亚特兰大观看NBA比赛，并与当地检察官密谋将特朗普定罪。——国会山为乌克兰人在美权益奔走——担心特朗普政府将取消在美国寻求庇护的乌克兰人保护措施的议员们希望总统考虑另一种方案：维持现状。美国政府须在10月19日前决定是否续期或取消在美国的超过10万名因战争逃离乌克兰的乌克兰人的临时保护身份。
The administration has until Oct. 19 to renew or cancel temporary protected status for more than 100,000 Ukrainians in the U.S. who fled the war still ravaging their country.
尽管两党多位议员希望特朗普能批准续期，但也有人支持一个备用方案——让该身份自然到期，而非正式取消，从而自动延长六个月。克里斯·马奎特、埃里克·巴扎伊-埃米尔和安德鲁·霍华德也为本篇报道做出了贡献。
While a number of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are hoping Trump will renew the permission, some also support a backup option — letting the status expire without formally canceling it, triggering an automatic six-month extension.