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Chinese government-linked influence operations have targeted a handful of Republican politicians up for reelection, including Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul, and Alabama Rep. Barry Moore, Microsoft said Wednesday.
Chinese actors have also targeted Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who is not up for reelection this cycle but has been a critic of Beijing, according to the new report. Rubio was also rumored as a potential vice presidential pick for Donald Trump before Ohio Sen. JD Vance was selected.
Chinese influence operations are focused on denigrating “down-ballot Republican candidates and members of Congress that advocate for anti-Chinese policies,” Clint Watts of the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center wrote in a blog post.
US intelligence officials previously said that China is meddling in down-ballot races, without revealing which particular candidates Beijing is targeting. China has not appeared to develop a preference in the presidential race, US officials say.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington denied that Beijing is seeking to interfere in US elections.
“The presidential elections are the United States’ domestic affairs. China has no intention and will not interfere in the US election. Meanwhile, we hope that the US side will not make an issue of China in the election,” the spokesperson said.
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According to the report, a Chinese disinformation group dubbed “Spamouflage” criticized Moore’s support for Israel with posts on social media that used antisemitic language, and “legitimate online users” engaged with the posts.
“The United States must be prepared to stand against Chinese aggression and continue to stand with Israel and Taiwan,” Moore said in a statement.
McCaul, a leading China hawk who Beijing sanctioned last year after he visited Taiwan, said in a statement he considered it “a badge of honor when the CCP — a leading abuser of human rights, censor of free speech, and oppressor of its own people — takes issue with my work.”
Meanwhile, Rubio, who is the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that China “is becoming increasingly more aggressive and needs to be taken very seriously.” Blackburn released a statement saying she wouldn’t be deterred from her mission of “breaking China.”