Biden campaign launches latest ad in North Carolina in time for football

President Joe Biden is launching a new ad Tuesday in North Carolina that his campaign also plans to air during Thursday’s NFL primetime season opener between the Detroit Lions and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The ad focuses on Biden’s economic agenda and will target key battleground states, including North Carolina.

“They said millions would lose their jobs and the economy would collapse,” the ad opens. “But this president refused to let that happen.”

The commercial highlights Biden’s work to fix supply chain issues, lower medication costs and make the country more energy independent. It highlights the country’s 3% inflation rate and unemployment at the lowest levels in decades.

Last June, inflation rates rose to 9.06%, but they dropped to 3.18% by July 31. While that’s a significant decrease over the past year, inflation was slightly higher in July than in June.

The United States hit its peak unemployment rate in April 2020, when it reached 14.7% during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under Biden, the unemployment rate fell in February to its lowest point since 1969 at 3.4%. It currently stands at 3.8%.

The White House also sent out a memo to reporters Friday afternoon highlighting key points of Biden’s economic agenda — now being called “Bidenomics” — ahead of the Labor Day holiday.

A recent poll by the Washington Post and the University of Maryland shows that Biden has a messaging problem when it comes to his work fixing the economy. Among the largest accomplishments of Biden’s first term was a tax and climate bill known as the Inflation Reduction Act, which just celebrated its one-year anniversary. But The Hill reported that 7 in 10 Americans do not know much about the legislation and incentives it offered to everyday people.

Friday’s memo highlighted specifics about the law and how it has helped Americans over the past year.

Gov. Roy Cooper, who serves on the Biden campaign’s national advisory board, said in a news release about the ad that North Carolinians have seen Biden “get to work to deliver for hardworking families.”

“The results speak for themselves: lower costs and inflation coming down, more good-paying jobs, and corporations are finally being forced to pay their fair share,” Cooper said. “This is the kind of leadership that matters, and it’s critical that we reelect President Biden and Vice President Harris to build on the progress we’ve made and finish the job.”

Winning North Carolina

In May, the Biden campaign included North Carolina in a strategy memo on how it plans to win the 2024 general election, Politico reported.

North Carolina hasn’t voted for a Democratic candidate for president in 15 years. In 2008, President Barack Obama won the state by less than 14,000 votes against Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee. Obama was the first Democratic presidential candidate to win since 1976.

Despite a 2020 election win nationwide, Biden lost North Carolina to former President Donald Trump by just 1.4%. Last week, Americans for Prosperity spent $800,000 on an ad in North Carolina encouraging Republican voters to cast ballots against Trump in the 2024 primary on March 5, saying Republicans needed a different candidate to defeat Biden.

Tuesday’s ad by Biden is part of a 16-week, $25 million advertising campaign announced last month to reach key voters in battleground states. The first ad launched in North Carolina ran ahead of the first Republican debate. The latest ad will run in North Carolina on broadcast, digital and streaming TV.