Campaign Report
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Campaign Report
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Biden super PAC launches historic $250M ad blitz
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A colossal effort from Democratic super PAC Future Forward will fuel $140 million in TV ads and $110 million in digital ads supporting President Biden’s reelection campaign in battleground states from August to Election Day.
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The top outside group backing President Biden’s reelection bid is preparing to shell out a historic
$250 million to blanket the airwaves in crucial states during the final stretch of the 2024 campaign.
Future Forward, a pro-Biden Democratic super PAC, will put $140 million toward television ads and
$110 million toward digital ads, including streaming services, from the end of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 23 to Election Day on Nov. 5, according to reports.
The amount dwarfs the $151 million that Future Forward spent in support of Biden’s 2020 campaign.
The 10-week ad blitz will target voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and
Wisconsin – key battleground states as Democrats brace for a blistering campaign.
“The stakes of this election could not be higher, and by Election Day, every battleground voter will know it,” Future Forward president Chauncey McLean told The New York Times. “We’ll run a cost-effective and data-driven program of unprecedented scale to reelect Joe Biden.”
The Hill / Decision Desk HQ’s analysis of 540 polls shows GOP front-runner former President Trump currently holds a slight edge over Biden at 2.1 percentage points.
Future Forward reported earlier this month that it had raised $208 million in 2023.
“Whether it’s ensuring that Americans know about President Biden’s work to lower costs or making clear the threat Donald Trump is to our country, Future Forward is putting together an unprecedented effort to get the jobs done,” McLean said in a statement to Politico at the time.
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Welcome to The Hill’s
Campaign Report, I’m Liz Crisp. Each week we track the key stories you need to know to stay ahead of the 2024 election and who will set the agenda in Washington.
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Key election stories and other recent campaign coverage:
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A group of Illinois voters filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging former President Trump’s presidential ballot eligibility after the state’s elections board voted just hours prior to keep him on the ballot. The four voters, backed by nonprofit Free Speech for People, claim Trump should not be on the ballot because his actions surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol riots violate the 14th Amendment “insurrection clause” and he should therefore …
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Former national security adviser John Bolton said world leaders look at former President Trump as a “laughing fool” in his latest attack on the GOP presidential front-runner. “I think they think — Xi Jinping, and Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, and others — they think he’s a laughing fool. And they’re fully prepared to take advantage of him. Trump’s self-absorption makes it impossible for him to understand that,” …
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Former President Trump was set to meet Wednesday with leaders of the Teamsters union as he seeks the group’s endorsement in the 2024 election. “Will be meeting with the Teamsters in D.C. today. So many of their Members vote for me. Should be very interesting!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The former president’s meeting is the latest indication he is hoping to peel away support from President Biden among …
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Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
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- 25 days until the South Carolina Republican primary
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279 days until the 2024 presidential election
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Politics, pop culture clash over Swift
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Could an endorsement from pop superstar Taylor Swift help tip the 2024 presidential election? Democrats sure hope so, while Republicans want her to stand down.
President Biden’s team reportedly has the 12-time Grammy winner on their wishlist of endorsements.
In a recent poll, nearly 18 percent of voters surveyed said they would be more likely to cast their ballots for a Swift-backed candidate.
The artist already has proven to be a valuable political influencer. She supported Biden in 2020 and Vote.org saw record-breaking traffic in the fall after Swift urged fans on Instagram to take part in National Voter Registration Day.
Time’s “Person of the Year” followed up her registration drive with a reminder to her 275 million Instagram followers to head to the polls on Election Day 2023.
Former Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) received Swift’s public support during his successful 2018 reelection bid.
“You want the pope’s endorsement. Who’s left who has great appeal?” Cooper, who has since retired from Congress, recently told The Hill. “Six years ago, she was a star, but she wasn’t a supernova.”
Meanwhile, conspiracy theories have run rampant among some conservative circles, particularly after the Kansas City Chiefs secured a spot in the Feb. 11
Super Bowl. According to the baseless theories, Swift and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s romantic relationship and the NFL team’s success this season are part of an elaborate pro-Biden effort.
Prominent Republicans, including Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and
Jeanine Pirro, are publicly urging Swift against backing Biden again.
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill:
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Former President Trump knocked President Biden, his likely general election rival, for going to East Palestine, Ohio, roughly one year after a major train derailment. In a social media post, Trump hit Biden for “finally” visiting East Palestine after the White House announced Wednesday the president would travel there next month to meet with residents impacted by the Feb. 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern train derailment. …
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A majority of voters in swing states say they wouldn’t vote for former President Trump in the upcoming election if he were convicted of a crime, a poll released Wednesday found. The Bloomberg News/Morning Consult survey found that among voters in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, 53 percent of respondents said they were unwilling to vote for the former president …
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Local and state headlines regarding campaigns and elections:
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Election news we’ve flagged from other outlets:
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- Trump’s veepstakes: 5 reasons to pick a running mate, from Nikki Haley to
Tucker Carlson (USA Today)
- The ‘Profound Influence’ of Christian Extremists on
Mike Johnson (The Daily Beast)
- Texas and
President Biden Are Warring Over a Border Town. Its Residents Just Want Their Park Back. (Slate)
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Key stories on The Hill right now:
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A growing number of conservative voices are encouraging House Republicans to drop their campaign to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, arguing the GOP has not met the constitutional bar for removing him from office. Articles of impeachment for Mayorkas accuse him of violating immigration laws that require the detention … Read more
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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg turned his back to senators during a Wednesday hearing to stand and apologize to parents of children who have died or were seriously harmed after suffering abuse through social media. In a remarkable moment following a contentious exchange with Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), the Meta chief turned to dozens of parents …
Read more
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Opinions related to campaigns and elections submitted to The Hill:
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You’re all caught up. See you next time!
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