Republicans are spending millions on ads that recount heinous crimes. Victims’ families say they didn’t agree to it

When Robin Buonodono saw the TV spot, she felt like she couldn’t breathe. The ad described the 1994 murder of her 5-year-old daughter, Nicole VanNoty. The story of the killing had been repurposed as a political attack ad without her knowledge by a Republican super PAC seeking to defeat Michigan’s Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed.