Joe Biden targets swing states with barrage of ads to win over Donald Trump supporters

A Joe Biden campaign group has launched a record advertising campaign in swing states in an attempt to win back the president’s popularity in key 2024 battlegrounds.

‌Future Forward, the main Democratic super PAC (political action committee) supporting Mr Biden in November’s election, said it plans to spend $250 million (£197 million) on digital and television advertising – the largest ad spend by a super PAC in US history.

‌The adverts will begin the day after the Democratic National Convention in August, where Mr Biden is set to formally receive his party’s nomination for the 2024 race, and run until election day on Nov 5.

‌The new campaign comes after polling that shows Mr Biden is trailing Donald Trump, his likely Republican opponent, in many of the swing states that supported the 81-year-old in 2020.

‌A survey conducted for The Telegraph by Redfield & Wilton Strategies in December found that Mr Trump is ahead in six key states: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

‌Future Forward’s campaign will air in five of those states, plus Nevada and Wisconsin. A total of $28 million will be spent in Phoenix, in Arizona, and Atlanta, in Georgia, alone.

‌Another $35 million will be spent on YouTube, with additional ads running on the American streaming platforms Hulu, Roku and Vevo, the New York Times reported.

High stakes

‌Chauncey McLean, the president of Future Forward, told the newspaper: “The stakes of this election could not be higher, and by Election Day, every battleground voter will know it.

‌“We’ll run a cost-effective and data-driven program of unprecedented scale to re-elect Joe Biden.”

‌The $250 million spend comes amid concern in Mr Biden’s campaign that he is losing support in key swing states and in demographic groups that historically have supported him.

They include young voters, black voters and women.

‌The campaign has already launched television and radio adverts designed to appeal to ethnic minority voters, emphasising the administration’s record on supporting black-owned businesses.

‌The budget is more than any independent group spent during the entire 2020 campaign cycle, and represents the single biggest advert campaign by a super PAC in history.

‌Future Forward raised $151 million during the 2020 campaign period. Mr Trump’s main backer, MAGA Inc, has raised $46 million in the past six months.

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