WASHINGTON – Activists with the right-wing group Project Veritas embedded with campaigns of unknowing Democrats across the country ahead of the midterms. And in most cases, candidates didn't know they were a target until they saw the finished videos.

So far, the controversial group led by founder James O'Keefe, has posted undercover videos with liberal campaign workers or candidates in six tight races. And O'Keefe says more are to come in the days leading up to the midterms.

"It's trying to get as much done in the short amount of time we have," O'Keefe told USA TODAY in a phone interview. His goal, he says, is to "expose what these people really believe and think."

O'Keefe's tactics of secretly recording targets to expose them have attracted a barrage of criticism over the years and many of the group's previous videos have been discredited partly because of the edits and cuts, allegations O'Keefe denied while talking to USA TODAY.

Despite the controversy, the group's videos this cycle could hurt Democrats running in some of the nation's closest watched races, those that could decide which party controls Congress.

Those known to have been targeted by the group in this election cycle include: Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, Tennessee Senate candidate Phil Bredesen, Arizona Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and House candidate Abigail Spanberger.

The aim, O'Keefe says, is to expose the beliefs of progressives who are running in mostly red states, those won by President Donald Trump in 2016. He says his stings have uncovered Democratic candidates being untruthful to woo moderates in their state.

He says he doesn't need to be liked by the elite and calls his videos the "purest form of journalism" because there is no spin or opinion, rather just the words of their targets.

More:Right-wing activist group films undercover video of Kyrsten Sinema, staffers

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But O'Keefe has been accused of editing videos to misrepresent the context of conversations as well as other dubious acts that include a failed sting of the Washington Post. He was also convicted in 2010 of using a fake identity to get on to federal property during one of his projects.

In November 2017, the Post said it was approached by a woman who worked for Project Veritas. She tried to make false accusations against then-Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, who was already mired in a sexual misconduct scandal and would eventually lose the Alabama special election to Democrat Doug Jones.

That attempted sting was one example of what critics say are ongoing efforts by O'Keefe's group to discredit mainstream media and liberal groups.

O'Keefe wouldn't say how the footage was captured in the six Democratic races but in at least three of the instances, a Project Veritas employee offered a fake name and posed as a campaign employee to gain access. O'Keefe said they use a "variety of different methods and sources" to get the footage.

He acknowledged the group's tactics are controversial but argued the secret recordings make people "more honest" and said to blame those who are making the comments because they're "spilling the beans" to a stranger.

"The truth is paramount, not our tactics," O'Keefe said in one recent video.

McCaskill called for a special prosecutor to investigate after one of the operatives posed as an intern and recorded the senator talking about wanting tighter gun laws and a campaign employee saying she supports abortion in an attempt to demonstrate she was hiding her views because of the tight race against the state's Attorney General Josh Hawley.

McCaskill called the secretive recordings "illegal" and a "fraud."

Sinema, who is running in a tight race against Republican Rep. Martha McSally, called the undercover videos of her and staffers a "stunt." While the goal may have been to uncover her secret views on topics, many of her comments caught by the group on gun laws and did not appear to strongly contrast with her public opinions on issues.

In the video, Sinema is captured talking about immigration, specifically that she believes reform is needed but a path to citizenship should be offered to those who haven't committed a crime.

One of her campaign officials was also captured discussing gun laws, saying the campaign "can't be talking about an assault weapons ban" if she wants to win.

Instead, the campaign official said Sinema can lead on issues like background checks, the gun-show loophole and making it harder for people convicted of domestic violence to get guns.

Sinema campaign spokeswoman Helen Hare said "these partisan, discredited stunts are the latest attempt to distract from her harmful record."

Brown, who is running against Republican Knute Buehler, dismissed the videos as "alt-right propaganda."

But O'Keefe's videos could ultimately have some effect on these close races.

The undercover stings don't always garner national attention but some have caught fire in the local media, where constituents and voters live.

"That by any means is an achievement," O'Keefe said. He added that whereas candidates spend thousands on advertisements, his videos made the rounds on TV and online for free in many of these races.

A video on Brown reportedly led to the Oregon Republican Party filing an ethics complaint on allegations she may have used taxpayer money for her campaign. Local media in Missouri covered the McCaskill sting as she continued to ask for an investigation. Local coverage in Tennessee of the video targeting Bredesen left his campaign on the defense.

That could possibly hurt Democrats in Tuesday's election, according to Jacob Neiheisel, an assistant professor of political science at the University at Buffalo.

"It might help move the needle for certain people, possibly older folks, who are the people who vote most consistently," Neiheisel said. He noted some of the comments made by Democrats might not be flattering to voters, especially moderates.

But, Neiheisel added, these tapes for the most part "could just be reverberating in the echo chamber" since right-wing media is one of the largest forums for Project Veritas.

The group's latest videos targeted House candidate Spanberger, who is in a tight race against Rep. Dave Brat for Virginia’s 7th District. The undercover Project Veritas operative worked with the campaign but was discovered using a false name and exposed after her constant questioning raised red flags, according to the Washington Post.

Employees with Spanberger's campaign confronted the woman and told her to leave the building as workers throughout the campaign office recorded the interaction.

"Dirty tricks like these are the worst part of politics, and this is exactly what Abigail is running to change," Spanberger’s campaign manager, Dana Bye, told the Post.

Contributing: Rachel Leingang of the Arizona Republic