Bloomberg teams up with top Latino group for Florida ad buy

MIAMI — Latino Victory Fund and billionaire Mike Bloomberg are launching a $2.4 million digital ad campaign to get Florida Latinos out to the polls to defeat President Donald Trump in his must-win state.

Democrats have been scrambling in recent days to increase their neighborhood canvassing and get-out-the-vote efforts amid concerns from party strategists and officials in Florida about the absence of a Joe Biden ground game due to the pandemic. Against that backdrop, Florida Republicans have managed to cut into Democrats’ longtime statewide voter registration advantage this year.

While Democrats are still not out campaigning door-to-door to the same degree as the Trump campaign, the progressive PAC is aiming to use Bloomberg’s money to reach the state’s Latinos — who make up about 17 percent of the state’s electorate. The goal is to ensure they’ve either registered to vote by mail or know when and where they’ll be going to cast their vote. Early voting in Florida begins on Monday and runs until Nov. 1.

"Voter turnout among Latinos in Florida could mean the difference for a Biden-Harris win in Florida," Bloomberg said in a statement.

The $2.4 million for the digital ads is part of Bloomberg’s commitment to spend up to $100 million to defeat Trump in Florida. Last month, Bloomberg also gave $4 million to three PACs for canvassing efforts in Florida aimed at minority and “underrepresented” groups.

Latino Victory Fund said it will use the funds for English and Spanish ads that will route voters to votaflorida.com, which will allow the group to track voters and ensure they get their ballots in or know where their polling place is located.

Earlier this week, Bloomberg gave $500,000 to the Democratic Party in Miami-Dade County, the state’s most populous county and a liberal bastion. Biden has little chance of winning the state
without a big winning margin and high turnout in Miami-Dade. But for much of the campaign, Biden has underperformed among Democratic-leaning, non-Cuban Hispanic voters in Miami-Dade and throughout Florida relative to Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Both campaigns have aggressively pursued Latino voters in Florida, and Biden and Trump have made multiple trips to South and Central Florida — home to most of the state’s Latinos. Florida’s Latino vote is largely made up of Republican-leaning Cubans in Miami-Dade and a growing number of Democratic-leaning voters with Puerto Rican, Colombian, Nicaraguan, Dominican and Venezuelan heritage in Miami, Orlando and elsewhere in the state.

Other outside groups have also jumped in to help mobilize voters in Florida. Entertainment mogul Tyler Perry on Thursday announced he would help fund a $500,000 voter mobilization effort in Florida to help turn out at least 250,000 Black voters. Perry has partnered with Equal Ground Education Fund, a Florida-based group that aims to get Black voters out to vote, to host “Park & Praise” events at sites in 25 counties across the state.