Future Forward launches a $50 million pre-convention ad blitz for Harris
The Kamala Harris ad blitz has launched.
Future Forward, the largest Democratic-leaning super PAC, will spend $50 million on advertising in six states over the next three weeks to introduce the vice president and boost her candidacy before the Democratic nominating convention in Chicago begins, the group announced Thursday.
American Bridge 21st Century, the second-largest independent advertiser for the Democratic presidential campaign, will restart its advertising Friday in the northern battlegrounds of Michigan, continuing a direct-to-camera testimonial campaign that began in May before taking a break, according to a person familiar with that spending, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the plans. Women Vote, the ad spending arm of the Democratic-leaning Emily’s List, also announced on Thursday a $2 million digital effort for Harris aimed at younger women in four of the states.
“We’re ready to hit the ground running to make sure voters know that Kamala Harris will be a President that fights for them,” Future Forward President Chauncey McLean said in a statement Thursday. “She is focused on improving the lives of all Americans, while Donald Trump is only focused on himself.”
The ads will begin airing Saturday, with a positive biographical spot about Harris.
That ad describes Harris as “the district attorney who protected children from sexual predators,” “the attorney general who stood up to the big banks to protect homeowners and won,” “the senator who fought to defend a woman’s right to make her own medical decisions,” and “the vice president who fought to cap the price of insulin at $35 a month.”
The Harris campaign also launched its first ad on Thursday, aiming to draw a sharp distinction with Republican nominee Donald Trump and amplify the pro-freedom theme that has become central to her pitch.
“In this election, we each face a question: What kind of country do we want to live in?” Harris says in the ad. “There are some people who think we should be a country of chaos. Of fear. Of hate. But us? We choose something different. We choose freedom.”
The ad backup for Harris counters a short-term advantage that Republicans have had in ad spending in swing states since Sunday, when President Biden announced he was dropping out of the race and endorsed Harris. MAGA Inc., a group supporting Trump, spent $2.9 million on ads between Sunday and Thursday, according to AdImpact, a tracking firm. That included a spot alleging that “Kamala was in on it. She covered up Joe’s obvious mental decline,” before blaming her for increased immigration and inflation.
The Harris and Biden operation spent just under $2 million during the same period, according to AdImpact. The Harris campaign has separately launched a massive digital ad campaign through her affiliated victory fund to raise money this week, spending $4.8 million over five days, according to Ad Impact. In the five days before Biden’s exit, the same victory fund spent $1.6 million on digital ads.
MAGA Inc. is also adding $32 million in ads attacking Harris between now and Labor Day, bringing the group’s planned total for that period to $72 million, according to a super PAC official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the plans. (The official later said the correct number is $70 million.) Politico first reported the new MAGA Inc. spending Thursday.
The attack ads will be focused in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada and Arizona, the MAGA Inc. official said. Spots are expected to criticize Harris’s handling of the southern border — for instance, her past comments that “the border is secure” — as well as her record as a prosecutor.
Future Forward’s ad-makers have produced more than 50 potential spots for Harris since Sunday, said a person familiar with the strategy, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Those spots will form the basis for the coming campaign, with more than half of the spending occurring alongside Olympics coverage, when the group’s strategists expect many of their targeted voters, including those less engaged with politics, will be watching.
Future Forward announced a $250 million post-convention advertising commitment in January, the largest single purchase in political history. But the group, which spends through a committee called FF PAC, did not rule out additional spending, either before or after the convention. Discussions of launching ads earlier in July were put on hold after Biden stumbled in a June 27 presidential debate, raising questions about whether he would stay in the race.
Future Forward USA Action, an affiliate of Future Forward that does not disclose its donors, has already been one of the biggest spenders of the cycle. The group spent nearly $25 million on broadcast, cable and digital spots last year on its own and $40 million in partnership with Climate Power. Those spots focused on Biden’s policy achievements as president.
Women Vote released two ads on Thursday, both contrasting Harris’s work to ensure abortion access with Trump’s record on the issue. American Bridge has said it plans to spend $140 million in the northern battleground states through November on voter testimonial ads warning about another Trump term in office. The ads focus on attacking Trump for on such issues as democracy, his criminal convictions and members of his own administration distancing themselves from him.
Hannah Knowles and Toluse Olorunnipa contributed to this report.