President Biden’s campaign will launch a $50 million battleground state ad blitz, it announced Friday, a move that comes as he seeks to assure voters he’s up for the job following last week’s dismal debate performance.
The campaign also said it would invest $17 million to ramp up voter outreach over the next two months and that the president, Vice President Harris, first lady Jill Biden and first gentleman Doug Emhoff will travel to every battleground state in July.
The TV, radio and digital ad blitz will target voters in battleground states on key issues including abortion, economic issues and painting former President Trump as a threat to American democracy and rule of law, according to the campaign.
The ads will also capitalize on programs with large, politically diverse audiences, including the 2024 Olympics, “The Bachelorette” season premiere and the Republican National Convention.
“This will be a close race, decided by battleground voters who require consistent time, outreach, and attention,” the campaign wrote in a release detailing the push.
“While Donald Trump is on the golf course, we are putting in the work to reach critical voters and frame this election as a choice between Joe Biden – a fighter for American families – and Donald Trump – a convicted criminal who is running a campaign of revenge and retribution focused only on himself.”
Biden’s reelection operation touted its best fundraising month so far in June, raking in $127 million among the campaign, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and joint fundraising committees.
The campaign said $38 million of that total came in the days after the first presidential debate last Thursday, which sparked an onslaught of calls for Biden to drop out of the race.
Biden is set to sit for an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Friday, which is widely viewed as one of the most important interviews of his presidency as he seeks to convince voters, donors and political allies that he’s the right man for the job.
But before he speaks with Stephanopoulos, Biden is slated to deliver remarks at a campaign event in Madison, Wis.
While three House Democrats have publicly called on Biden to drop out of the race and others are expressing concerns in private, the party establishment has largely coalesced behind the nominee. Several politicians are expected to attend the campaign event, including Gov. Tony Evers (D) and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.).
Wisconsin is one of six states viewed as toss ups by The Hill and Decision Desk HQ, along with Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
Biden carried all six in 2020 to defeat Trump and aims to do so again. But he’ll have to fight for them, and Trump currently has a nearly 14 point lead over Biden nationally, according to The Hill and Decision Desk HQ’s election forecast.