Club for Growth launches nearly $1 million ad buy against Biden in Pennsylvania city

The conservative Club for Growth on Tuesday is launching a nearly $1 million ad buy hitting Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in the key swing state of Pennsylvania.

The ad from the anti-tax group, which has not been previously reported, accuses the former vice president of costing the Keystone State jobs during his time in the Senate and Obama administration. The 30-second clip targeted at the city of Wilkes-Barre comes as Biden’s burgeoning lead in Pennsylvania and other battlegrounds sparks hand-wringing among the GOP.

“Under Biden’s leadership, northeast Pennsylvania lost nearly 20,000 jobs. Sold us out to China, where Biden’s family made billion-dollar deals. Sold out to Pelosi too,” a narrator says. “His plan costs families $4,500 a year on average. Trillions to finance her wish list.”

The ad’s focus on the economy hits Biden on an issue where polls show he is weak against President Trump. However, recent surveys have shown the former vice president cutting into that advantage. 

The clip is just the latest foray into the presidential race for Club for Growth, which has launched an array of other ads on the White House as well as down-ballot contests. 

The group, which was vocal in its opposition to Trump in 2016 but has since turned into a key outside ally, is one of a number of conservative organizations trying to beat back an onslaught of television and digital advertising from pro-Biden groups, an advertising disparity that is only exacerbated by the Biden campaign’s own cash advantage over the Trump campaign. 

Polls show Biden with a consistent lead in Pennsylvania, which Trump narrowly won in 2016 over Hillary Clinton. The RealClearPolitics polling average of the state shows Biden with a 7-point lead, and he has not trailed Trump in a poll there since June. 

Wilkes-Barre is located in Luzerne County, which Trump won by 26,000 votes in 2016. The working-class area is one of several small cities and rural pockets in Pennsylvania and across the country where the GOP is looking to drive up margins for Trump and other GOP candidates in the hopes of offsetting Democratic victories in urban and suburban centers.