New DNC ad attacks Jill Stein in midwestern battleground states

 The Democratic National Committee is running a new ad attacking Green Party candidate Jill Stein in midwestern battleground states, calling her a “spoiler” helping former President Donald Trump and telling voters “a vote for Stein is a vote for Trump.”

The ad, which will run in media markets in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and on cable networks across the country, blames Stein for Trump’s victory in 2016 and suggests Stein is collaborating with Trump allies to boost his chances in November. The ad features a clip of Trump praising Stein’s campaign, saying at a rally in Pennsylvania earlier this year, “Jill Stein, I like her very much. You know why? She takes 100% from them.”

“Jill Stein, Green Party candidate for president. So why are Trump’s close allies helping her? Stein was key to Trump’s 2016 wins in battleground states. She’s not sorry she helped Trump win. That’s why a vote for Stein is really a vote for Trump,” a narrator says in the ad as an image of Stein slowly morphs into an image of Trump.

Stein has tapped Jay Sekulow, a longtime conservative activist and former attorney for Trump, to represent her campaign in its fight to get on the ballot in Nevada, which ultimately failed after the Supreme Court declined to overturn a lower court ruling blocking Stein from the ballot.

While Stein has repeatedly denied she played a role in helping Trump get elected in 2016, Democrats often point to Stein’s vote share in midwestern battleground states, including in Wisconsin where her vote share was larger than the margin of victory for Trump in the state, as being a key factor in Trump’s 2016 path to victory.

In a statement announcing the ad, DNC senior adviser Mary Beth Cahill said the DNC’s new ad is an effort to make voters aware of Stein’s ties to Trump, arguing “the stakes of this election are too high to allow Stein to spoil it.”

“Just like in 2016, Jill Stein can’t win the presidency, but she will help decide who does. Donald Trump knows that she’s his key to the White House — that’s why he praises her spoiler candidacy and why his MAGA allies are working to prop up her campaign. The stakes of this election are too high to allow Stein to spoil it. The DNC will make sure voters know that a vote for anyone other than Kamala Harris is a vote for Donald Trump,” Cahill said.