Dem group halts some ads against House GOP after legal threats; Bacon ads remain

LINCOLN — A Democratic-aligned billboard ad campaign against U.S. Rep. Don Bacon in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District will stay up despite national Republicans threatening legal action against at least one of the ad’s vendors.

The targeted anti-Bacon billboards from House Majority Forward are part of a larger campaign by the DNC and Democratic-aligned groups to soften six “vulnerable” House Republicans across the country. The ads emphasize billionaire Elon Musk and his U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team’s efforts to cut federal programs and end some federal agencies.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, or NRCC, tried and, in some cases, succeeded at removing some of the ad blitz. The group’s leaders said in a news release that “Democrats were just ordered to take down billboards they launched falsely accusing Don Bacon of voting ‘to cut Medicaid’ and giving “billionaires like [Elon Musk] tax cuts.” 

The NRCC release referred to the House Majority Forward billboard ad buy. It linked to a Washington Examiner article headlined “Democrats dealt messaging blow after NRCC defamation threat forces Medicaid billboards to come down.” The article specified that the NRCC had sent cease and desist letters threatening legal action if the ads weren’t taken down.

But when the Nebraska Examiner reached out to House Majority Forward, a group tied to the ads focused on Democratic efforts to retake the House, a spokesperson said its anti-Bacon ads are “still up and running.”

Budget and spending fight

The House Majority Forward ad says, “Don Bacon voted to cut Medicaid to give Billionaires like his tax cuts,” with an arrow pointing to Elon Musk. The ad refers to a non-partisan federal budget office, saying earlier this month that GOP-proposed budget cuts can’t happen without cutting Medicare or Medicaid.

The Nebraska House Republican voted yes for the proposed GOP budget that would expand the 2017 Trump tax cuts and cut $2 trillion in spending. Bacon and other House Republicans claim the cuts can happen without touching Medicaid and other social programs, which, though possible, would be challenging to pull off.

Last week, Bacon and the rest of the Nebraska federal delegation also voted for a continuing resolution to keep the federal government from shutting down. The stopgap bill reduced overall spending compared to last year’s totals, increased military funding by approximately $6 billion, decreased non-defense spending, and will fund the government until September. Bacon has said he pushed to protect military spending in that bill and took criticism for Medicaid cuts. 

The Washington Examiner originally reported that all six ads were pulled, but a House Majority Forward spokesperson said the billboards criticizing Bacon and Rep. Gabe Evans, R-CO, are still up, because they are under a different vendor. 

He said, she said

An NRCC spokesperson said that if and when they find out who the different vendor is, they will “get them taken down in a second.”

“These dishonest billboards are another attempt to distract Nebraskans from the truth,” said Zach Bannon, an NRCC spokesman. 

The Nebraska Examiner obtained the same cease and desist letter as the Washington Examiner, which shows the NRCC telling the ad vendor, “If you proceed with displaying the false message that these six Members of Congress voted to “CUT MEDICAID,” you will be liable for the defamatory messages spread to voters in each district.” 

The Examiner also obtained the response from the vendor, Lamar Advertising Company, complying with the request to take down the billboards. 

“Lamar’s National Sales Campaign Specialist has confirmed that the copy is no longer running,” the vendor letter reads. “While your letter came to Mario Martinez’s attention, Mr. Martinez was not involved in the Advertiser’s campaign. Notwithstanding, Mr. Martinez…is available to assist the NRCC with counter messages or future campaigns.”

Democratic groups continue focus on U.S. Rep. Don Bacon with ad buys

House Majority Forward officials said the NRCC used “dirty tricks” and claimed the Lamar vendor has ties to House Speaker Mike Johnson.  

“Our BIG, BEAUTIFUL billboards on Gabe Evans and Don Bacon, who voted to cut Medicaid, are still up in CO-08 and NE-02,” said Katarina Flicker, a House Majority Forward spokesperson, in a statement.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates Bacon’s seat as a Republican toss-up. He has won the slightly right-leaning 2nd District five times despite its recent blue tilt in presidential races. Bacon recently tweeted about being the most efficient House representative. 

“This is [a] fear-mongering campaign and a dishonest one,” Bacon said on X, responding to the original Washington Examiner reporting about some campaign ads being taken down.