Democrats are intensifying their midterm strategy with a focus on Iran.
The VoteVets Action Fund is launching a $250,000 advertising campaign on Wednesday, aimed at Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) over his backing of the conflict with Iran. These details were first shared with POLITICO.
This initiative marks one of the initial instances where Democrats are allocating substantial funds to an issue during the midterm elections, following President Donald Trump’s attack on Iran over a month ago. Republicans are increasingly anxious about the potential negative impact of the war on prices and their political fortunes in the upcoming elections.
The advertisement targets Van Orden, a vulnerable Republican and combat veteran, criticizing his support for a Pentagon proposal to allocate an additional $200 billion for the Iran operation amidst rising gas prices. It also highlights his previous call for cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The ad accuses Van Orden of supporting reductions in veterans’ care, although he has advocated for cutting bureaucratic positions to hire more doctors.
This campaign spotlights Democrats’ strategy to leverage the war issue by arguing that Trump’s overseas spending is straining voters financially, while also neglecting veterans, as highlighted by VoteVets.
“Look at that gas pump. We’re paying the cost every damn day of this war in Iran. But for Congressman Van Orden, we’re not paying enough. He’s going for another $200 billion dollars to spend in Iran,” narrates a Marine Corps veteran in the ad.
“This is the same guy who backed big cuts to VA care for vets,” continues the veteran, referencing notable staffing reductions at the agency since Trump resumed office, including thousands of medical personnel. “Vets like me, we understand the cost of war. But if we don’t have the money to take care of our veterans, we damn sure can’t afford another war. Call Van Orden on it.”
VoteVets, a PAC focused on electing Democratic veterans, plans to broaden its Iran ad campaign to other key districts, particularly targeting GOP veterans who, according to the group, are following Trump in abandoning his campaign promise to end perpetual wars.
“There’s absolutely no doubt that voters throughout the country, and particularly in Rep. Van Orden’s district, are very aware of the fact that every single day we spend billions of dollars [on] this war in Iran is yet another day that not only is the affordability crisis ignored, but it’s getting even worse,” said Max Rose, a New York Democrat and senior adviser to VoteVets. “What this first video represents is our commitment to holding every single Republican veteran in the House of Representatives accountable for their lies, hypocrisy and absence of courage.”
Van Orden, a retired Navy SEAL with service in Iraq and Afghanistan, dismissed VoteVets as a “running joke in the veteran community” in a statement to POLITICO. He remains supportive of Trump’s military operation and the additional funding plan under White House review but opposes deploying uniformed troops on Iranian soil.
“Iran has been at war with the United States for 47 years. When we start putting a price tag on American citizens’ lives, we’ve already lost sight of our responsibility,” Van Orden stated. “Every single American murdered by these radical Muslim mullahs is priceless, and every American life we can save is beyond value.”
The 30-second advertisement will air during NCAA games and other live sports events, as well as on broadcast, radio, streaming services, and social media platforms. It signifies an increase in Democratic rhetoric and assertiveness as the party capitalizes on the growing voter backlash to the month-long conflict that Trump is threatening to escalate.
Democrats have been aggressively targeting Republicans on affordability issues as gas prices exceed $4 per gallon. Now, they are exploring ways to link other cost concerns to the escalating war spending amid reports that Republicans might further cut federal health spending to finance the military endeavor, returning to key issues of the election cycle to argue that the GOP prioritizes loyalty to the president over voters’ financial well-being.
Other Democratic-aligned groups are also joining the effort. Over the weekend, Battleground Alliance PAC flew a plane over a minor league baseball game in Pennsylvania with a banner targeting Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie: “Mackenzie: Your Iran Vote = Sky High $$$Gas.” Similar actions are planned in more than half a dozen other swing districts in Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska, and Ohio.
“We’re in a war of choice, which is spending an enormous amount of money, and we’re going to get more health care cuts and oil price increases,” said Andrew Grossman, a senior adviser to the labor-backed Battleground Alliance PAC. “And so the cost of living — like the chaos and the Republican Congress just saying yes always to President Trump — is hitting Americans in our pocketbooks, and that is the single most important issue of our moment.”
Mackenzie’s campaign manager, Andres Weller, criticized the tactic as “the same political stunts that people are tired of. An outside group did the same thing at the same place in 2024, and all it accomplished was annoying people who were trying to enjoy a baseball game with their family and friends.”
As Democrats intensify their actions, Republicans are becoming more concerned that a prolonged conflict could harm their chances of retaining power in the midterms. The war is already causing rifts within the MAGA coalition. Polls indicate that a majority of Americans oppose the operation in Iran, including an Ipsos survey released Tuesday showing two-thirds of Americans want the U.S. to withdraw, even if the president does not achieve all objectives, and 56 percent expect the conflict to negatively impact their financial situation.
Voters are “going to look to their members of Congress to see if they double down or be an independent voice [on Iran],” said Samuel Chen, a Pennsylvania-based GOP strategist. “If they’re doubling down on it in these tight seats in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and other places, that could be the difference.”
