The National Republican Congressional Committee has launched a fundraising campaign against Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders’s presidential bid.
The fundraising page uses images of the Communist hammer and sickle.
“It’s a real possibility that the Democrats may actually nominate a socialist. Self-proclaimed socialist Bernie Sanders is catching fire in the Democrat primary,” the National Republican Congressional Committee writes on a fundraising page.
“He’s smashing online fundraising records and has even reported over two million online donations. We have to stop this! Pitch in today to keep America free from socialism.”
This sort of message is similar to what Hillary Clinton allies have been attempting to use, framing Sanders’s identification as a Democratic Socialist as a potential pitfall that could hurt efforts as the party looks to retake the Senate majority.
A major focus of Clinton supporters has been arguing that Clinton would have a better chance of beating out the Republican nominee.
“The Republicans won’t touch him because they can’t wait to run an ad with a hammer and sickle,” Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill and key Clinton surrogate told The New York Times in January.
Sanders and his campaign have repeatedly refuted concerns about socialism, arguing that his message is in line with that of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson.
Clinton and Sanders are running a tight race with the Iowa causes a mere day away. Sanders was once seen as unelectable and trailing, but has now cut Clinton’s lead.