Democrats Drop $40M in Epstein Attack Ads as GOP Fires Back

With the midterms down to the wire, Democratic candidates and their allied groups are blanketing the airwaves with ads accusing Republicans of shielding pedophiles — all tied to the fight over releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files. CNN tallied more than $35m spent on Epstein-themed spots, while the Washington Post put Democratic spending above $40m across six pivotal Senate races. The message is blunt and emotional, built to sting.

The targets are stacking up. In Colorado, ads hit Republican Jeff Crank for voting against releasing the files, with relatives of Virginia Giuffre — an Epstein abuse survivor who died by suicide last year — saying he 'covered up Epstein's crimes to protect Donald Trump.' Iowa Senate hopeful Ashley Hinson got hammered for allegedly protecting her donors; she fired back in her own spot, saying she had to tell her sons, 'No, Mom does not protect pedophiles.' Georgia's Mike Collins and Florida's Jimmy Patronis faced similar volleys, with Patronis accused of calling an Epstein investigation a waste of time.

There's a catch the ads skip, according to the Guardian: nearly every House Republican ultimately voted for the Epstein Files Transparency Act — all but one, in fact — once Donald Trump blessed the legislation and agreed to sign it. Before that, Democrats and a handful of House Republicans had tried to force a floor vote through a discharge petition, a maneuver that bypasses the usual legislative slog. Trump, who knew Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, opposed that push, reversing his campaign pledge on government transparency, and House Republicans mostly fell in line — a move that infuriated some of his prominent supporters.

Republicans say the spots are a distortion. Crank's campaign told the Post the ad was 'intentionally vague,' arguing his position was to hold off until victim information could be properly redacted, and called it 'unfortunate' that opponent Jessica Killin was 'preying on a grieving family.' Crank's staff met with Giuffre's family, though he didn't sit down with them himself, per the New York Times. Hinson insisted in a direct-to-camera ad that she voted to release the files. Patronis never called the probe a 'waste of time,' though he did tell a local radio station the issue was a 'massive energy and time suck.'

The GOP isn't just playing defense. Some Republicans and outside groups are flipping the script, accusing Democrats of taking cash from Epstein-linked donors. During a Georgia Senate debate, Collins claimed opponent Jon Ossoff took donations from tech billionaire Reid Hoffman, who has said he only knew Epstein through fundraising and regrets it. 'The Epstein class is on stage right now and it's you,' Collins jabbed.

In New Mexico's governor's race, an outside group accused Democrat Deb Haaland of riding Epstein's jet and taking 'tens of thousands of dollars from Epstein businesses.' Haaland didn't fly on the jet, but she did take a 2014 flight booked by an Epstein-owned company, and says she had no idea who owned the charter. With days left, both sides are betting the Epstein name still moves voters.