Here Come the 2024 Presidential Ads. And They’re for Biden

(Bloomberg) -- A Democratic super-PAC is coming out early — and big — for the 2024 presidential race, launching ads in battleground states to tout President Joe Biden’s economic agenda.

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American Bridge 21st Century wouldn’t disclose how much it’s spending on the television and radio commericals, except that the expense could reach the mid-six figures. But initial buys identified by the tracking firm AdImpact show $142,928 in reserved time in the target markets as of Thursday. That would make it the largest advertising expenditure of the 2024 campaign to date.

Besides coming nearly 20 months before the presidential election, the ads are notable for the locations where they’ll appear: Greensboro, North Carolina; Flint, Michigan; Erie, Pennsylvania and Green Bay, Wisconsin.

“We feel like it’s an important segment because traditionally a lot of the independent expenditure groups go after the major media markets,” said Tiffiany Vaughn, spokesperson for the political action committee. “And sometimes our message doesn’t get delivered to smaller communities, the rural beltway voters who can get overlooked.”

All of the cities are in states that will be contested by both parties.

The ads are timed for this weekend to coincide with the second anniversary of Biden’s signing of the coronavirus stimulus package, the American Rescue Plan. They would focus on differentiating the president from Republicans on Social Security, Medicare, insulin prices and infrastructure spending.

The commercials don’t single out any specific Republican by name, but some versions show images of former President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Trump in November announced his third campaign for the White House, and Biden and DeSantis are widely expected to announce their campaigns.

American Bridge is known for its opposition research and attack ads against Republican candidates. Its biggest donors last year included Stephen Mandel of Lone Pine Capital, Michael Moritz of Sequoia Capital, and Deborah Simon of Simon Property Group.

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