America First Action super PAC is dropping $12.7 million on a wave of new ads in Florida in hopes of swaying the swing state in favor of President Donald Trump’s reelection.
The conservative PAC backing Trump is targeting swing states with a new digital and cable ad, “Guess What.”
The ad will be broadcast through Election Day in Orlando and West Palm media markets.
The ad attacks presidential candidate Joe Biden — alleging that his tax package will hurt the middle class, calling it a plan that would “decimate the potential for economic gains and make it impossible for Florida families and workers to recover in the wake of the coronavirus.”
The ad leads with a hit on economic loss from coronavirus, with a man, referred to in the ad as Dan, saying “This has been one of the toughest years of my life.”
The ad focuses on individuals concerned over increased taxes. One woman, referred to in the ad as Denise, states “Who’s going to be paying for this? It’ll be the middle class.” According to the Associated Press, the Democratic nominee has only proposed raising taxes on those making $400,000 a year or more.
The ad cuts to Biden at a campaign rally, saying “Guess what? If you elect me, your taxes are going to be raised not cut.” However, the clip excludes who Biden was referencing in the speech.
The entire quote reads: “How many of you did really well with that $1.9 trillion tax cut? Well you did! Well, that’s good. I’m glad to see you are doing well already. But guess what, if you elect me, your taxes are going to be raised, not cut, if you benefited from that.”
This new $12.7 million ad campaign comes in addition to the super-PAC’s August announcement of $18.6 million on advertising in battleground states, including Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida. The PAC allocated $2.2 million from that campaign for Florida, targeting ads in the Orlando market.
The most recent Florida polling shows the presidential race is deadlocked just eight weeks from Election Day.
A survey released Tuesday by NBC News/Marist shows Trump and Biden each are the choice of 48% of the 766 likely voters surveyed from Aug. 31 to Sept. 6.
Among registered voters, Biden holds a slight edge, with 48% support against 47% for Trump. Polling among registered voters as opposed to likely voters is a less viable metric because it includes data from people who aren’t likely to cast a ballot.
The poll leans Republican, assuming a +3 turnout edge for Trump, double the 1.5% advantage the campaign had against Hillary Clinton in 2016, indicating it may underestimate Democratic turnout, which could skew results.
In both cases, the margins are well within the margins of error, at 3.9% among registered voters and 4.5% among likely voters, offering another piece of evidence that Florida is not likely to be an early call in November.
