I don't know the intent of the writers or editors, but I would think a political strategy firm is reasonably aligned to one party or the other and its alignment

I don't know the intent of the writers or editors, but I would think a political strategy firm is reasonably aligned to one party or the other and its alignment is totally valid context. I didn't get the impression it was overplayed here. I think what does happen sometimes is that when there is a negative connotation, as there is here, and the association is with the Democratic party, that context is downplayed or omitted entirely. Aside from that, the choice of a Republican focused group makes sense since the strategy was to assert threats to traditional values and appeals to nationalism / anti-China sentiment.