‘Soft on crime’: Republicans resurrect old and tired battle cry before election

GOP ramping up spending for grisly, racist ads that cast Democrats as dangerously liberal' with crime emerging as top concern among voters

Democrats knew the attacks were coming. And like clockwork, just as their political fortunes appeared to improve earlier this summer, Republicans pounced, battering Democrats with a barrage of soft on crime" attacks just weeks before election day.

With voters identifying crime as a top concern in recent surveys, Republicans have increasingly turned to an old playbook: centering their closing pitch of the midterm campaign on crime. Over the last several weeks, Republicans have ramped up their spending on crime-related messaging, blanketing the airwaves with grisly television ads that cast Democrats as dangerously liberal", different" and enablers of lawlessness.