Democrats launch billboards asking public to demand town halls from GOP representatives
The Democratic National Committee said on Wednesday that it is launching a series of billboards in some Republican-held congressional districts to encourage people to call for town halls from their elected representatives after some Republicans allegedly stopped holding public town halls as they faced angry constituents and disruptions from protesters.
"Republicans are refusing to meet with their constituents after voting to take away health care and make it harder for families to put food on the table," DNC Chairman Ken Martin said in a statement. "This isn't surprising -- over the last few months, one word has come to describe Republicans: cowards."
The billboards are going up in Republican-held districts in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska and Pennsylvania. Each billboard calls the member of Congress a "coward" and provides the phone number for the member's Washington, D.C., office to "demand a town hall."
Democrats have claimed in recent weeks that Republican members are not holding town halls because they want to avoid their constituents' anger over President Donald Trump's policies and cuts to the federal government. Both the national party and individual elected officials have also begun holding town halls in Republican-held districts.
"We are hosting events in Republican-held districts and we are pasting Republican representatives' phone numbers on billboards across their districts because working families deserve to be heard," Martin wrote.
In a statement to ABC News responding to the billboard campaign, Republican National Committee Communications Director Zach Parkinson wrote, "The Democrat Party's approval rating just hit a record low after getting trounced in November, and the DNC's new messaging strategy is to buy some billboards. We fully encourage liberal donors to keep funding these innovative approaches at the DNC."
Earlier this month, House Republicans were encouraged by the National Republican Congressional Committee to do more virtual events over in-person town halls, which allows for more control, although some Republican members have continued to host or appear at in-person town halls despite the pushback.
On Tuesday, Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., held a 90-minute town hall, though he faced numerous interruptions from audience members.
"Ultimately, I am accountable to you," Flood told constituents on Tuesday. "You will decide whether I do this job. The people of the 1st District will decide whether I do this job. I will continue to do town halls. I will continue to show up in person."
ABC News' Lalee Ibssa contributed to this report.
