共和党人和民主党人正用具有爆炸性的电视广告充斥中期选举的广播电台，指责对手包庇恋童癖者和儿童性虐待者。
Republicans and Democrats are flooding the midterm airwaves with explosive TV ads accusing their opponents of protecting pedophiles and child sexual abusers.
为什么这很重要：这场广告密集攻势凸显了杰弗里·爱泼斯坦丑闻挥之不去的影响力，该丑闻加剧了对权势人物的不信任，并将关于儿童性虐待的指控推到了国家政治的最前沿。
Why it matters: The advertising blitz underscores the lingering power of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal which has fueled distrust of powerful figures and pushed allegations of child sexual abuse to the forefront of national politics.
- 有关特朗普政府处理爱泼斯坦档案方式的争议——包括有关官员试图通过不公开全部档案来保护权势人物的指控——使该问题一直处于新闻头条。
• The controversy over the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files — including allegations that officials sought to protect powerful figures by not releasing all of the files — has kept the issue in the headlines.
- 随之而来的中期选举广告跨越了党派界限，正在各州和联邦竞选中上演。
• The midterm ads that have followed have been bipartisan and are playing out in state and federal races.
用数字说话：根据AdImpact的数据，自9月1日以来，候选人和外部团体已经播出了至少价值7000万美元的电视广告，其中提及了恋童癖、爱泼斯坦以及与儿童性虐待相关的指控。
By the numbers: Since Sept. 1, candidates and outside groups have aired at least $70 million in TV ads mentioning pedophilia, Epstein and allegations related to child sexual abuse, according to AdImpact.
- 在识别出的118个广告中，63个由民主党赞助，52个由共和党赞助，3个由独立人士赞助。
• Of the 118 ads identified, 63 were sponsored by Democrats, 52 by Republicans and three by independents. Driving the news:
推动新闻：该问题已成为堪萨斯州竞争激烈的参议院竞选中的一个引爆点。民主党人周二推出了三则广告，攻击共和党参议员罗杰·马歇尔，指责他最初投票反对一项迫使司法部公布更多爱泼斯坦档案的议案。
The issue has become a flashpoint in the competitive Senate race in Kansas, where Democrats unveiled three ads Tuesday attacking Republican Sen. Roger Marshall over his initial vote against a measure to force the Justice Department to release additional Epstein files.
- 与此同时，保守派组织“增长俱乐部”一直在播出一则广告，指责牧师亚当·汉密尔顿——马歇尔的民主党对手——处理涉及一名教堂夏令营志愿者的性虐待指控不当。
• Meanwhile, the conservative Club for Growth has been airing an ad accusing pastor Adam Hamilton, Marshall's Democratic opponent, of mishandling sexual abuse allegations involving a church camp volunteer.
- 这些指控可追溯到2005年，当时教堂领袖最初调查了有关营地男孩的指控，而不是立即联系警方。汉密尔顿已经发布了一则商业广告，在其中否认存在掩盖行为。
• The allegations date to 2005, when church leaders initially investigated accusations involving boys at the camp rather than immediately contacting police. Hamilton has released a commercial in which he denies a cover-up.
- “增长俱乐部”的广告与新电影《黄金时段》的宣传材料极为相似，该电影灵感来自前全国广播公司电视剧《捉拿捕食者》。
• The Club for Growth's ad closely resembles promotional materials for the new movie "Primetime," which is inspired by the former NBC TV series "To Catch a Predator."
在得克萨斯州，支持参议院候选人詹姆士·塔拉里科的民主党人已经花费了超过800万美元用于广告，攻击他的对手、州总检察长肯·帕克斯顿（共和党-得克萨斯州），因为其办公室最初提出的认罪协议仅要求对一名被控性虐待儿童的男子判处一天监禁。
In Texas, Democrats backing Senate candidate James Talarico have spent more than $8 million on ads attacking his opponent, state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), over his office's initial offer of a plea deal calling for just one day in jail for a man accused of sexually abusing a child.
- 帕克斯顿表示，他同意该协议是为了免受虐儿童受害者第二次在法庭上作证。
• Paxton says he agreed to the deal to spare a child abuse victim from having to testify in court a second time.
与此同时，在北卡罗来纳州，民主党人播出了四则广告，指责共和党参议院候选人迈克尔·沃特利任命了一名被定罪的性犯罪者进入州共和党委员会。沃特利否认雇用了这名男子。
In North Carolina, meanwhile, Democrats have aired four ads accusing Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley of appointing a convicted sex offender to a state GOP committee. Whatley has denied hiring the man.
- “这是一个关乎品格和判断力的问题，”担任沃特利的民主党对手、前州长罗伊·库珀顾问的资深民主党民调专家约翰·安扎洛内说。
• "It's an issue that goes to character and judgment," said John Anzalone, a veteran Democratic pollster who's advising Whatley's Democratic opponent, former Gov. Roy Cooper.
幕后：向Axios提供的一份堪萨斯州共和党内部民调说明了战略家们为何认为这些攻击能够引起共鸣。
Behind the scenes: Private GOP polling in Kansas, provided to Axios, illustrates why strategists believe the attacks can resonate.
- 在听取了有关汉密尔顿处理教堂夏令营事件方式的指控后，受访的堪萨斯州选民中有69%表示他们不太可能支持他，战略家们发现。
• After hearing allegations about Hamilton's handling of the church camp incident, 69% of Kansas voters surveyed said they were less likely to support him, strategists found.
竞争态势：共和党人对这些攻击的拥护标志着该党的一个显著转变，此前该党花了数月时间就特朗普政府对公布更多爱泼斯坦档案的抗拒进行防守。
State of play: Republicans' embrace of the attacks marks a striking turn for a party that spent months on the defensive over the Trump administration's resistance to releasing additional Epstein files.
- 一些共和党战略家将这些攻击视为让民主党陷入守势的一种方式，因为共和党正艰难地向选民兜售特朗普的议程。
• Some GOP strategists see the attacks as a way to put Democrats on defense as Republicans struggle to sell voters on Trump's agenda.
- 民主党人将竞选的大部分时间花在了就高物价痛击共和党人上。但随着选民对经济的看法基本定型，攻击性广告越来越多地聚焦于品格和判断力问题。
• Democrats have spent much of the campaign hammering Republicans over high prices. But with voters' views on the economy largely set, attack ads are increasingly focused on issues of character and judgment.
各方言论：“爱泼斯坦强化了这样一种猜疑：权势人物相互庇护，并在不同的规则下运作，”共和党民调专家克里斯·威尔逊告诉Axios。
What they're saying: "Epstein reinforced the suspicion that powerful people protect each other and operate under different rules," Republican pollster Chris Wilson told Axios.
- “涉及儿童的指控尤其发人深省，[对机构信任的崩塌]赋予了它们额外的共鸣。”
• "Allegations involving children are especially visceral, and [the collapse of trust in institutions] gives them added resonance."