Democrats Launch Lawsuit To Stop Republicans From Using Their Campaign Finance Tactic

House Democrats’ campaign arm sued the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Thursday to block Republicans from using a campaign finance strategy that Democratic committees employ.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) alleges in its lawsuit that Republican joint fundraising committees are exploiting a campaign finance loophole by running attack ads, which they are prohibited from doing, and simply categorizing them as fundraising ads, which are allowed, Axios reported. A joint fundraising committee formed by the DCCC and Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Elisa Slotkin, however, is running an attack ad against Republican Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers that seemingly uses the same loophole.

The lawsuit comes after Democrats failed to convince the FEC that Republicans were violating campaign finance law, according to Axios. The Democratic effort to hamstring Republican political spending comes as Democrats outspend the GOP in high-stakes Senate races.

Democrats flagged ads paid for by Republican joint fundraising committees, a type of political committee that collects funds on behalf of a group of other candidates and organizations, that spend the majority of their airtime attacking Democrats and then end with a short fundraising appeal, according to Axios. The Democratic ad in Michigan spends nearly its entire run time criticizing Rodgers and presents a QR code in the bottom right corner prompting people to donate.

The DCCC’s lawsuit complains that Democrats are being forced to “compete on uneven terms,” according to Axios. This charge comes as Republican critics point out Vice President Kamala Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have used similar mechanisms.

“I fully expect the FEC to prevail in this frivolous lawsuit. We will see the DCCC in court,” FEC Chairman Sean Cooksey said to Axios. An FEC spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation that “we do not comment on litigation.”

Democrats are concerned about the presence of such ads in Montana, Arizona, Maryland and Nebraska, all states with close Senate races.

“This is a desperate stunt. JFC television ads were approved unanimously in 2007 and reaffirmed last week,” National Republican Senatorial Committee General Counsel Ryan Dollar told Axios. “I’d be curious to hear what Harris Victory has to say about this ridiculous lawsuit, given that they have engaged in these ads themselves.”

The DCCC did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.