Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is placing television ads in Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Michigan as it seeks to expand the map against Hillary Clinton one week before Election Day.
The Republican nominee’s campaign announced Tuesday that he is adding those states to his $25 million television ad buy, arguing it shows that Trump is “surging in traditionally blue states.”
{mosads}“The data clearly shows that Mr. Trump’s message is reaching voters and we are expanding the map,” Brad Parscale, the Trump campaign’s digital director, said in a statement to the press.
Clinton, the Democratic nominee, is a big favorite in all three states.
According to the RealClearPolitics state poll averages, Clinton leads Trump by 6 points in Pennsylvania, more than 8 points in New Mexico and by more than 7 points in Michigan.
Trump previously announced ads in North Carolina, Ohio, Maine, New Hampshire, Nevada, Iowa, Colorado, Florida, Wisconsin and Virginia.
Polls suggest Trump is either a favorite or in an exceptionally tight race in Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and Florida, but Clinton appears to have the edge in the other states. In Maine, Trump hopes to pick up one of the state’s electoral votes.
If Trump wins Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and Florida, it would get him closer to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. But even if he carried all of the states won by 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney in addition to those four states, he would still need to pull out one more state victory.
North Carolina is a pitched battlefield for the campaigns. The state went Republican in 2012, but most polls show Clinton with an edge this year.
Trump campaigned in Michigan on Monday and is making a stop in Pennsylvania on Tuesday to give a healthcare policy speech.
Clinton will campaign throughout Florida on Tuesday.