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The Democratic National Committee is launching an ad blitz in the coming primary states of South Carolina and Nevada by targeting communities of color, rural areas and potential younger adults as President Joe Biden makes his re-election pitch to voters.
The ad campaign, previewed first to NBC News, focuses on getting out the vote, rejecting “MAGA” Republicans and highlighting issues like voting rights and student loan forgiveness. The bulk of the new ads — on radio, in print and online, along with billboards and kiosks on college campuses — start Saturday.
The DNC is spending six figures in South Carolina and another six figures in Nevada.
The early advertising in those states underscores the Democratic Party’s goal of reaching out to more diverse populations at the start of the primary season, unlike in past years, which began with the caucuses in Iowa.
The primaries in South Carolina and Nevada were moved up when Biden revamped the party’s nominating calendar, eliminating the predominantly white states of Iowa and New Hampshire from the top of the order. Because of the change-up, Biden did not appear on New Hampshire’s primary ballot this week. But he was still victorious thanks to a successful write-in effort.
The South Carolina Democratic primary is Feb. 3, and Nevada’s is three days later.
“These investments into South Carolina and Nevada should send a very clear message: the President and I know our democracy is stronger when we all participate,” Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement. “And while some elected officials appear dead-set on undermining our democracy, the President and I will continue to do everything we can to make it easier, not harder for every American to participate in this democracy by voting this November.”
In South Carolina, the radio spots will target Black voters, airing on 43 Black-focused radio stations in 10 media markets and reaching potentially hundreds of thousands of voters, a DNC official said. In one radio spot, Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., calls on Democrats to send MAGA Republicans a message that they reject their agenda. In another, Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison touts fighting for student loan debt relief and protecting voting rights.
In Nevada, the DNC is running ads in Spanish, as well as in Tagalog and Chinese.
Polls indicate Biden faces waning support from Black and Latino voters. He recently visited South Carolina — the state that helped propel him to the Democratic nomination in 2020 — and Harris is due to visit Las Vegas on Saturday.
As the 2024 campaign has ramped up, the campaign has pushed forward with its central argument that freedom is what’s at stake in November.
“This election will decide no less than the fate of our nation, and it is absolutely critical that every American knows the stakes — and the vital role that their vote will play for the future of our country,” Harris said in her statement.
