NPR

Democrats are bankrolling ads promoting fringe Republican candidates. Here's why

A screenshot from a television ad promoting Chris Mathys, who ran for the GOP nomination in California's 22d Congressional district, was paid for by a Democratic political action committee.

As the midterm primary season rolls along, voters may have noticed a strange phenomenon of political advertising: Democrats paying for ads supporting Republican candidates.

In multiple states – including Colorado and Illinois, which hold primaries on Tuesday – Democrats have been attempting to boost far-right Republicans, under the assumption that they would be easier to beat in a general election.

It's a political gamble,

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