US President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 8, 2024.
Jim Watson | Afp | Getty Images
President Joe Biden visited Pennsylvania on Friday to kick off a tour of battleground states, and his reelection team will spend $30 million on an ad buy as it fast-tracks the U.S. general election campaign following his exuberant State of the Union address.
Campaign officials who briefed reporters said Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will rally Democrats in March in many of the states where the Nov. 5 election is likely to be decided against Republican opponent Donald Trump.
After Pennsylvania on Friday, Biden will visit Georgia on Saturday, New Hampshire on Monday, Wisconsin on Wednesday and Michigan on Thursday. Harris will visit Arizona on Friday and Nevada on Saturday.
About 32.2 million people watched Biden’s State of the Union address, according to Nielsen ratings from 14 television networks. Audiences were up 18% from Biden’s speech last year, which attracted 27.3 million viewers, Nielsen said.
Television audiences for live events have declined dramatically as audiences have gravitated toward on-demand streaming services. TV ratings don’t capture all audiences on streaming services or social media.
Biden campaign officials have said they expect an extremely close race against Trump, with opinion polls showing a neck-and-neck race for the 270 electoral votes needed for victory.
“We firmly believe that this race will be won on the ground among key states that offer multiple paths to 270, and everything we are doing this month to kick off the general election is built on that premise,” said Julie, of the Biden campaign. Chávez Rodriguez.
Cabinet officials and other top aides are also arranging to make official stops in a variety of states such as Ohio and Florida to support Biden’s agenda.
Polls show that Biden, 81, and Trump, 77, are very similar, with most voters less than enthusiastic about the rematch after Biden defeated Trump four years ago.
Deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty said the $30 million bought in advertising over the next six weeks is more than Biden’s campaign spent in all of 2023. He said Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday evening triggered the biggest fundraising day ever for the incumbent Democrat. . No figure was provided.
As of last month, the campaign had raised more than $42 million in January and had $130 million in cash for the general election battle.
The $30 million ad buy will target voters across a wide range of digital platforms, some of which target key Democratic constituencies, including Hispanics, African Americans and Asian Americans, Flaherty said.
Ads will also run on popular channels Comedy Central and ESPN.
Biden on Friday visited a suburban Philadelphia county that has undergone a transformation during the Trump era.
In 2015, Democrats had a slight advantage of 6,665 voters over Republicans. Today, that margin has risen to 57,139, according to the latest state voter registration data.
For Biden to win the critical state, he must increase victory margins in Philadelphia and suburbs surrounding the city such as those in Delaware County.