Pence tries to exploit Ukraine crisis by accusing anti-oil Democrats of ‘bankrolling’ Putin in $10m ad buy

The ad comes as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and plenty of Democrats have come in favor of banning Russian oil imports into the United States

Former vice president Mike Pence has announced a $10m ad buy targeting incumbent House Democrats, saying their environmental policies enabled Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The ad accuses incumbent House Democrats and President Joe Biden of compromising international security by preventing production of oil domestically, thereby making the US more dependent on Russian oil.

“Joe Biden caved to the radical environmentalists and stopped America’s Keystone Pipeline and dramatically increased Americans’ dependence on Russian oil, endangering America’s security and helping Russia fund their invasion,” the ad said. Mr Pence’s group is specifically referring to how the Biden administration revoked the presidential permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline.

The Trump administration had previously supported the pipeline and had issued a permit for it when Mr Pence was vice president.

The ad comes as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and plenty of Democrats have come in favor of banning Russian oil imports into the United States. Ms Pelosi outlined such policies in a letter to Democratic colleagues Sunday evening.

“Let me be clear: the United States need not choose between our democratic values and our economic interests,” Ms Pelosi wrote. “The Administration and the Congress remain laser-focused on bringing down the higher energy costs for American families and our partners stemming from Putin’s invasion.”

Below is a list of members of Congress whom Advancing American Freedom is targeting.

• Rep Colin Allred (TX-32);
• Rep Cindy Axne (IA-03);
• Rep Jared Golden (ME-02);
• Rep Henry Cuellar (TX-28);
• Rep Kurt Schrader (OR-05);
• Rep Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07);
• Rep Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15);
• Rep Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06);
• Rep Susan Wild (PA-07);
• Rep Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05);
• Rep Matt Cartwright (PA-08);
• Rep Marcy Kaptur (OH-09);
• Rep Tom O’Halleran (AZ-02);
• Rep Elaine Luria (VA-02);
• Rep Sharice Davids (KS-03); and
• Rep Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-03).

Many of the members are in vulnerable districts. Virginia’s Rep Elaine Luria, for example, faces a tough challenge after redistricting, with the Cook Political Report rating her race as a “Toss-up” and FiveThirtyEight saying her district has a partisan lean of 6 per centage points towards the GOP. Meanwhile, Rep Cindy Axne represents Iowa’s 3rd District, which voted for Mr Trump twice. Cook rates the district as a “Toss-up.

But other Democrats on the list are likely to fare better, such as Reps Colin Allred in Texas 32nd District and Lizzie Fletcher in Texas’s 7th District. Both flipped longtime Republican districts but Texas’s redistricting made both far safer, with FiveThirtyEight saying the 32nd, which includes large parts of Dallas, having a partisan lean of 25 per centage points in favor of Democrats and the 7th District, which includes Houston, having a partisan lean of 24 per centage points in favor of Democrats.