President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is making a new digital ad buy in Pennsylvania aimed specifically at targeting Nikki Haley supporters, campaign officials told CNN, marking the latest sign of the Biden team’s growing efforts to try to woo would-be Republican voters who find Donald Trump unacceptable.
The decision to direct additional resources – which the officials described as part of a “mid-six figures” ad buy – toward courting Haley backers in Pennsylvania was prompted by the state’s Republican primary contest on Tuesday. The president’s campaign saw those results as a serious warning sign for Trump – and an opportunity for Biden – in the crucial battleground state.
More than 157,000 GOP primary voters backed the former South Carolina governor over Trump in Pennsylvania’s closed primary, despite the fact that Haley had dropped out of the presidential race over a month ago. In response to those results, Biden’s Pennsylvania campaign manager, Nikki Lu, said in a statement that plenty of Republicans in Pennsylvania were “rejecting Donald Trump for his extremism” while the former president has “done nothing to win these voters back.”
“Our team is dedicated to reaching voters in every corner of the Commonwealth,” Lu said. “At the end of the day, we are all Pennsylvanians, and there will always be a place in President Biden’s coalition for voters who believe in preserving our democracy and building an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top.”
The Biden campaign first rolled out its digital ad making a direct appeal to Haley supporters at the end of March. It is currently running in multiple battleground states, with a particular focus on suburban areas where Haley had strong showings against Trump, according to the campaign.
The spot features a montage of Trump’s past mocking comments about Haley, including describing his former United National ambassador as “birdbrain” and “not presidential timber.”
The 30-second ad also depicts Trump sounding dismissive about the importance of winning over Haley backers: In response to being asked how he can bring Haley voters into his coalition, Trump responds: “I’m not sure we need too many.”
“If you voted for Nikki Haley, Donald Trump doesn’t want your vote,” the ad says. The digital spot has been running on social media sites like Facebook and cable TV-alternative platforms like YouTube TV and Hulu.
After Haley suspended her presidential bid, Biden said in a statement that his campaign would welcome her supporters.
“It takes a lot of courage to run for President – that’s especially true in today’s Republican Party, where so few dare to speak the truth about Donald Trump,” Biden said at the time. “Nikki Haley was willing to speak the truth about Trump: about the chaos that always follows him, about his inability to see right from wrong, about his cowering before Vladimir Putin.”
