The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is having fun with a group chat made up of left-leaning “independents,” who are all challenging red-state Republicans, by creating an AI-generated parody video of the chat that includes a cameo by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
A report on Monday from NOTUS revealed that four former Democrats, who are running as independents for Senate against Republican incumbents in red states, have created a group chat.
On Monday, in an X post previewed exclusively by Breitbart News, the NRSC responded by posting a parody video of a group chat named “Totally Not Democrats,” which cleverly ties the independent candidates to Schumer, and said:
EXCLUSIVE sneak peek at @chuckschumer’s group chat with the liberal “independents” he’s recruited to try to fool voters in Nebraska, Idaho & South Dakota. Too bad disguised Democrats Dan Osborn, Todd Achilles & Brian Bengs will never make it out of the chat.
WATCH:
One of the candidates, Dan Osborn, a former registered Democrat, challenged and was defeated by incumbent Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) in 2024. Brian Bengs, Todd Achilles, and Ty Pinkins, the other three candidates, all ran failed races as Democrats before running as independents.
All four are running this cycle as independents. Osborn is now challenging Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) after losing to Fischer. Bengs is running against Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD); Achilles entered the race against Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; and Pinkins is challenging Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) in another long shot race.
Notably, the only independents serving in the Senate, socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and reliable Schumer vote Sen. Angus King (I-ME), caucus with the Democrats.
The NOTUS article downplays Osborn’s history as a Democrat, calling him “the union worker turned independent” – using “union worker” instead of “Democrat,” Osborn’s former party affiliation.
The report questions the electoral viability of any of the four. But Schumer probably does not expect any victories in those states. However, he will be happy to see Republican resources funneled away from competitive races elsewhere to put the independent candidates to bed.
Osborn’s Nebraska race in 2024 almost assuredly helped Democrats in other states, who managed to win by narrow margins a handful of Senate races in states won by President Donald Trump.
Fischer, who keeps a low profile in Washington, beat Osborn by six points after failing to seriously campaign until the latter weeks of the race, frustrating Republicans nationally and in Nebraska after they were forced to spend valuable resources in the safe seat to overcome Fischer’s late start.
The report from NOTUS did not credit Schumer for recruiting the four independent candidates, instead framing the proliferation of independents this cycle as an organic consequence of voter dissatisfaction with both parties.
A blockbuster report just days prior suggests that framing of the level of support for independent candidates is inaccurate.
According to staggering numbers first reported by the New York Times and analyzed by Breitbart News, in the 30 states that track voter registration by party affiliation, the Republican Party has enjoyed a 4.5 million voter swing in voter registration.
The early attention from NRSC suggests Republican candidates won’t let self-styled independent Democrat candidates get the jump on them this cycle.
And if Monday’s post is any indication, Republicans may have a bit of fun exposing the Democrats in independent clothing.
Bradley Jaye is Deputy Political Editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter and Instagram @BradleyAJaye.
