‘Starting strong’: Joe Biden begins TV ad buy in Florida

The presidential campaign entered a new phase this week as presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden makes his first general election TV ad buy.

Biden’s campaign will spend $15 million to air 60-second spots in six states, with Florida being one of those battlegrounds carried by President Donald Trump in 2016.

The ads, three in total, will also run in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, and Arizona. No data has been provided about precise spend in each state yet.

They feature Biden “in his own voice … a voice of clarity and moral authority that America desperately needs.”

A campaign memo suggests that the Biden campaign is playing throughout the state.

“Starting strong in Florida — Right from the get-go we’re establishing a presence in the Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville markets. We will establish a strong presence in the Panhandle to get in front of white working-class voters who moved from Obama in ‘12 to Trump in ‘16 as well as open a conversation with the African American voters in the Panhandle who will be crucial to mobilize early, and often,” a strategist asserted.

Two of the spots are in English, with a third in Spanish.

“Unite Us” juxtaposes still frames of protests with shots of the former Vice President projecting empathy in various settings.

About a third of the way in, shots of Trump appear, with Biden speaking.

“I won’t traffic in fear and division,” Biden says, “I’ll seek to heal the racial wounds that have plagued our country, not use them for political gain.”

“My Commitment,” another 60-second spot, is a paean to the front-line “essential workers.”

“We need to do more than praise them,” Biden remonstrates. “We need to pay them.”

Biden goes on to assert that the presidency involves a “duty to care.”

“It’s about you. It’s about us,” the candidate contends.

A third contrast spot, “Cuentas,” is tailored for Hispanic audiences. The New York Times notes that the Miami market will hear Cuban inflections from the narrator, while Orlando’s audio will be tailored to the Puerto Rican community.

Expect more television investments from Biden in Florida, one of a handful of states seen as in play in November. The candidate’s fundraising lagged during much of the primary season, but the money has found him since he became a consensus choice, with over $80 million raised in May.

While the President still has the cash on hand advantage, messaging won’t be a problem. And this initial push of ads reveals part of a Florida strategy for Biden, up seven points here in the most recently released poll of the race.

Another part of a Florida strategy could be a possible Sunshine State running mate — U.S. Rep. Val Demings, an Orlando Democrat. However, at this point, it is uncertain whether Biden will choose Demings.

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Florida Politics’ Scott Powers contributed to this post.