Hillary Clinton clearly has a millennial problem. Her main opponent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is winning among Democratic primary voters between the ages of 18-34 by more than 10 points. With only a few weeks left until the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, it is crunch time for the candidates. A new attack ad by Restoration PAC is targeting Clinton’s authenticity — one of her key weaknesses with millennial voters.
The ad launched this week, targeting primary voters in New Hampshire and South Carolina, and attacks Clinton’s handling of the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attacks.
Stay informed.Stay ahead.
Join Washington Examiner for unlimited access to the news, analysis, and commentary that matter most.
Already a member? Log in
“What separates the ad from others is a detailed timeline that spells out how emails prove Clinton lied to the public and family members of the victims immediately after the attack,” said a press release from Restoration PAC.
Richard Grenell, former U.S. spokesman to the United Nations who was involved with the creation of the ad, was careful to point out that this is not a Benghazi ad, but rather “a Hillary lies ad,” because Hillary’s “kryptonite” with millennials is that she is untrustworthy.
“Millennials seek authenticity,” he said. “They have no patience for the contrived lies politicians push. Hillary has been caught lying and they see it.”
Grenell said the ad was a success with millennials judging by the overwhelming number of shares, clicks, and feedback the group received. Restoration PAC plans to continue this strategy and will be making additional ads about Clinton’s record at the State Department.
But the question is, do these attack ads really work?
The political research group Evolving Strategies recently studied the effect of a similar attack ad on millennials and found that ads, like the one by Restoration PAC, do in fact shift voter opinion. After seeing just one attack ad, the group reported support for Clinton fell 5, 7, and 8 points with millennial voters in hypothetical matchups against Republican candidates Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz.
In this particular study, the pool of millennials was divided into two groups: one group watched a non-political advertisement while the other watched an attack ad from the Stop Hillary PAC. Rubio gained the most support from millennials who viewed the Clinton attack ad, followed by Cruz, and then Trump.
Watch the Restoration PAC ad below:
