House Majority PAC, a Democratic super PAC affiliated with the House minority leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, said Sunday it will spend $186 million on television and digital ads in the lead-up to this year's elections. Announced. This is the largest initial investment in the group's history.
The massive spending will target 58 media markets in 45 districts, including Republican seats in districts won by President Biden in 2020 and Democratic seats in districts won by former President Donald J. Trump. Become. As part of its spending plan, $40 million will be earmarked for digital advertising, the group announced Sunday. Details of the ad buy were first shared with CNN by him.
In an interview Sunday, House Majority PAC Chairman Mike Smith described the group's plans this election year as an “aggressive strategy.” Democrats need to win just four seats to win a House majority, and achieving that will depend on races in New York and California, he said. The group is spending the most money in these states to unseat vulnerable Republican freshmen and maintain the rich (and expensive) messaging needed to penetrate voters.
“If we're going to take this election seriously, we need a significant investment,” Smith said. “This fall, the core constituencies that will determine whether Democrats win or lose a majority will be sort of consolidated, and much of that will take place in the nation's most expensive media markets.”
Smith also noted that the group has made early investments in advertising in states such as Ohio, Montana and Michigan. These states are a small number of battleground states, and the presidential election was close. The campaign is particularly focused on appealing to voters in battleground districts as well as districts with large populations of blacks, Hispanics, and Asian Americans.
The cash-rich Democratic Party, ahead of a tough November election, is giving away large sums of money to protect vulnerable candidates. On top of that, President Biden and his allies have outperformed Republicans so far. The president's re-election campaign said he had $192 million on hand, including money raised by the National Party and allied groups. Trump's campaign on Saturday touted $50 million in revenue from a big-ticket fundraiser it hosted in Palm Beach, Florida, as the president struggles to close the fundraising gap.
But Democrats are not shying away from the need to field a lower-ranking candidate to outperform Mr. Biden, who may be hampered by weak approval ratings. Asked whether such a large investment early on reflected the challenges Democrats would face if they shared a ticket with the president, Smith said the investment would help the president's polls. I answered that it was not in accordance with the above.
“It doesn't reflect much other than the fact that we need four seats to win,” Smith said. “We are not taking anything for granted and are now making our investments known across the battlefield.”
The ads will primarily focus on reproductive rights, the economy and the Republican “extremism” that appears to be impeding progress in Washington. Ads will begin running on Monday. The number of markets and the amount spent by the group may change from the initial placement as the campaign continues and the group reevaluates its priorities.