The Akin Ploy in the LA Mayor Race

Our most recent book is The Comeback: The 2024 Elections and American Politics. It includes a chapter on congressional and state elections. In the 2012 Missouri  Senate race, incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill ran ads during the GOP primary campaign saying that Todd Akin was "too conservative."  The idea of the "attack ad" was to drive GOP voters to Akin, her weakest potential foe.  It worked.  Other campaigns have tried variations of the "pick your opponent" ploy.  And it has happened in 2025 and 2026.

Ha! This ad is designed to actually HELP Spencer Pratt consolidate conservative votes and make the top two in the primary, pushing Raman (the lefty Bass fears) into third place. #Garvey https://t.co/JOffW61lnq

— Mike Murphy (@murphymike) May 10, 2026