Virtually every Democratic primary candidate this cycle wants voters to know one thing: How much of a "fighter" they are.

Why it matters: A year's worth of liberal grassroots fury — at Trump and the party's own leaders — has enticed Democratic candidates to highlight their most combative side.

• Democratic campaigns and outside groups have run nearly 50 ads this election cycle featuring the words "fighter" or "fight," backed up by more than $22 million in spending, according to the tracking firm AdImpact.

Zoom in: In Illinois' 9th House District, all three major candidates — left-wing Kat Abughazaleh, progressive Daniel Biss and AIPAC-backed Laura Fine — had ads labeling them "fighters" and highlighting confrontations they had with ICE. Biss won the March 17 primary.

• Rep. Christian Menefee (D-Texas) ran an ad called "Fighter," which featured the then-candidate in boxing gloves calling himself a "fighter who stands up and wins" and swatting away Trump and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
• His top opponent in that 18th District race last month, fellow Democrat Amanda Edwards, also ran an ad called "Fighter" labeling her "a different kind of fighter — one who delivers for the people" and saying "we need a fighter we can actually trust."

Between the lines: Some of these "fighters" will want to show they're not just any old Democrat once they get to D.C.

• That could translate to rebellions against Democratic leadership, as we've seen with the House Freedom Caucus for Republicans.
• Dozens of Democratic House candidates have declined to commit to supporting Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, as we've previously reported.

Zoom out: The "fighter" vibe carried over into Democratic Senate primaries.

• In Illinois: "[P]eople are fed up, and they want fighters," said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton after winning the Democratic nomination last month.
• In Maine: "I stood up to the president of the United States to his face," said Gov. Janet Mills when she entered the Senate race.
• In Texas: "We're going to need somebody who can file bills but also knows how to be a street fighter," said Rep. Jasmine Crockett in a debate with state Sen. James Talarico, the eventual Senate primary winner.

What to watch: The term is cropping up in Democrats' next big contest, the May 19 primary in Pennsylvania's 3rd House District. More than a half dozen Democrats are competing to succeed retiring Rep. Dwight Evans.

• Pediatric surgeon and former Biden health official Ala Stanford is a "fighter and a champion," says a new ad funded by 314 Action, a Democratic group that backs candidates with STEM backgrounds.
• "Now's the time for Dr. Ala Stanford to bring her Philly fight direct to Donald Trump," it adds.

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— Andrew Solender

Trump won't be on the ballot this year, but you might not know it from the ads Republicans are running in competitive congressional primaries.

Why it matters: Even as his approval rating droops amid rising gas prices and a sluggish economy, the president is still one of the most potent forces in Republican politics.

• The threats of his ire and anti-endorsement are often fear-inducing enough to keep would-be GOP defectors in line.

Driving the news: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), one of Trump's top primary targets this year, is blanketing the airwaves with ads saying he agrees with Trump "nearly all of the time."

• "It's why in the past I've endorsed him, and he's endorsed me," Massie says in the spot, adding that he's "one of the few Republicans in Washington who stands up to every president, including President Trump" on federal spending.
• Massie's campaign hits Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein in another ad for registering as an independent during Trump's first term, calling him "not just a Trump hater, a Trump traitor."

The other side: Gallrein's campaign and outside groups supporting him are sure to mention that Trump has endorsed the ex-Navy SEAL in nearly every ad.

• One 15-second ad, called "Handpicked," focuses entirely on Trump's endorsement, quoting a news anchor who called him the president's "handpicked choice" for the seat.

Zoom out: Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio), the former chair of the moderate Republican Governance Group who is facing a primary challenge to his right from a former county commissioner, has an ad that — like Gallrein's — focuses entirely on his loyalty to the president.

• The ad, called "Stands With Trump," touts that Joyce "has President Trump's 'complete and total endorsement for reelection'" and urges voters to "stand with President Trump" by voting for him.
• Several candidates in open House Republican primaries, such as Chuck Gray in Wyoming and Madison Sheahan in Ohio, are similarly running ads playing up their ties to the president as much as possible.

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— Andrew Solender