Joe Biden Sets Aside $280 Million for Campaign Ads Through the Fall

WASHINGTON, KOMPAS.com - Joe Biden is reserving $280 million in digital and television ads through the fall as part of his US presidential election campaign.

The amount is double what President Donald Trump’s team has set aside which is around $147 million.

Joe Biden’s campaign is reserving $220 million in television airtime with the remaining $60 million in digital ads, based on a review of Kantar/CMAG data by The Associated Press.

Both the Trump and Biden campaigns can add to or subtract from their reservations at any time.

Read also: Joe Biden Takes Staunch Approach against Foreign Interference in US Elections

The buy reflects the Biden campaign's improved fundraising machine.

Along with the Democratic National Committee and joint fundraising committees, it raised a combined $140 million in July.

The committees have a total $294 million cash on hand.

Biden struggled to raise funds during the primary but has been ramping up his efforts since becoming the presumptive nominee and has worked to close the fundraising gap with the Trump campaign.

Biden is reserving airtime in 15 states, which includes a number of traditional swing states — Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Florida — as well as a number of historically Republican states, including Arizona, Georgia, and Texas.

It also includes a few traditional swing states that seemed to be moving away from Democrats in recent years, such as Ohio and Iowa.

His campaign says a “significant portion” of the reservation will be minute-long ads.

It’s part of an effort to solidify what Biden aides say are the multiple paths to an Electoral College victory open to Biden heading into November.

The campaign says it will continue to drive home a message focused on what it says is Trump’s lack of leadership on the coronavirus and that it sees Biden as the best messenger in the ads.

“We think it’s important that people see him, and hear him because it goes to the issue of leadership, and the kind of reassuring presence and stable leadership which we believe people see in Joe Biden,” said Biden senior strategist Mike Donilon.