(CNSNews.com) - The Democratic drumbeat against "Bush Republicans," heard repeatedly during the recent political campaign, may be morphing into a campaign against "McCain Republicans."

The term appeared Tuesday in a news release summarizing last week's elections.

The Campaign for America's Future, a liberal advocacy group, has concluded that Americans elected Democrats because they want to get out of the "mess in Iraq" and they want politicians to "work for the public good instead of special interests."

The election "marks the end of the conservative era," said Robert Borosage, co-director of the Campaign for America's Future. His group has concluded that "progressive populism" was the driving force in the midterm elections.

"The signature race of this election was Sherrod Brown versus Mike DeWine," said Borosage. "A socially liberal candidate beat a McCain Republican by emphasizing populist economic issues."

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has indicated that he will run for president again in 2008, and various press reports have labeled him a front-runner among Republicans - making him an early target for liberal groups.

In the race for Ohio's U.S. Senate seat, Sherrod Brown campaigned on heath coverage for the uninsured, trade policies that preserve union jobs, a higher minimum wage. He opposes the war in Iraq, free trade, and tax cuts for the "wealthy."

The Campaign for America's Future says it studied 11 contested races -- five for the House of Representatives, four for the Senate and two for governor. The survey found that the largest advertising sums were spent on economic ads featuring "remarkably populist messages."

The "cost of corruption" (candidates putting the interests of corporate lobbies and donors ahead of "working families") attracted the most combined ad money.

More money was spent on ads depicting the threats posed by "Big Oil and Big Pharma" than on ads warning of Osama bin Laden, the survey found. "Remarkably, little advertising money was spent on social issues," the Campaign for America's Future said.

In the 11 targeted races examined, Democrats spent a total of $19,854,007 on television ads focusing on campaign contributions and corruption, while Republicans spent $16,037,972.

While Republicans have traditionally emphasized moral values and crime in their ads, they spent only $2,364,216 and $5,472,338, respectively, on those issues in the races examined by the Campaign for America's Future.

See Earlier Story:
Democrats Cast McCain As an 'Opportunist' (13 Nov. 2006)

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