Anti-Trump group invests $11.5M in ads in swing states promoting unexpected voters who could decide election
An anti-Trump Republican group is mounting its largest campaign yet against the former GOP president by buying ads to drum up support for Kamala Harris.
Republican Voters against Trump has invested $11.5 million in an advertising campaign in several states targeting the former president, using testimonies from former Trump voters.
The ads will run through September in the states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona, where the presidential election remains uncertain, and in Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district.
The ad features videos of former Trump voters who are now throwing their support behind the vice president in the upcoming election.
Nearly eighty billboards will also be installed as part of the campaign.
Republican Voters Against Trump launched an $11.5 million ad campaign featuring former Trump voters explaining why they’re voting for Kamala Harris. It’s their biggest push yet
This comes after a number of Republicans expressed support for the Democratic presidential candidate at the Democratic National Party conference in Chicago last month, as the party also tries to shrink Republican support.
“Donald Trump has destroyed the Republican Party,” Sarah Longwell, executive director of Republican Voters Against Trump, said of her group’s latest effort.
“Every election cycle, he gets more and more Republicans to vote for Democrats because they believe Donald Trump and the GOP candidates who emulate him are unfit for office,” she added.
In the 30-second ad, several former Trump voters explain why they’re backing a Democrat in November. Some also explain why they think giving Trump a second term is dangerous.
He has also been criticized for his treatment of women and his role in the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Longwell argued that the effort helps build “a permission structure” that allows traditional GOP voters to reject the MAGA movement and vote Democrat despite policy differences.
At the same time, the 79 billboards feature former Trump voters from crucial swing states. They read: ‘I am a former Trump voter. I am a Republican. I am voting for Harris.’
The ad buy includes $4.5 million in Pennsylvania, targeting Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia; $3 million in Michigan, including Detroit and Grand Rapids; $2.2 million in Wisconsin, targeting markets in Madison and Milwaukee; $1.5 million in Phoenix, AZ; and $375,000 in Nebraska.
Anti-Trump group places nearly 80 billboards featuring former Trump voters in swing states
Republican voters’ $11.5 million anti-Trump campaign is running in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district
This effort comes amid an effort by Democrats to convince moderate Republicans and independent voters to support Harris.
Experts say whether Republicans vote for Harris or decide not to vote and stay home instead of voting for Trump could play a role in such a close race.
Harris’ campaign even enlisted Republicans to help.
The convention in Chicago last month featured a number of prominent former Trump officials, GOP lawmakers, local leaders and Republican voters who made their case for the Democratic presidential nominee.
The effort to persuade Republicans began while Biden was still running for re-election.
The Biden-Harris campaign welcomed Nikki Haley’s disaffected voters into the primaries after Trump attacked her candidacy earlier this year.
Haley has since announced that she will vote for Trump, but that hasn’t stopped Democrats from seeking support from her constituents.
In June, the campaign also announced the appointment of a full-time National Republican Engagement Director to focus on increased outreach.
Last month, Republicans for Harris was launched.