President Biden, trailing former President Donald Trump in the seven swing states that could decide the November election, sees a path to victory by outgunning the Trump team with a powerful ground game funded by a significant campaign cash advantage.
The Trump campaign has been largely silent about plans to ramp up battleground-state staffing, offices and advertising, but the Biden campaign is boasting about opening 130 coordinated campaign offices and hiring hundreds of staff members “across the battlegrounds,” a campaign aide said.
The Biden campaign is also outspending the Trump campaign on advertising in swing states, according to AdImpact, which tracks campaign advertising.
The Biden campaign in March touted a six-week, $30 million ad blitz in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina.
As of last week, the Biden campaign had spent $15.3 million on campaign advertising in the seven swing states. The Trump campaign had spent $1.2 million in those states, according to RealClearPolitics.
The Biden team is beefing up campaign efforts amid daunting poll numbers favoring Mr. Trump.
A Harvard CAPS/Harris poll released Monday found Mr. Trump leading Mr. Biden 44% to 38% in a three-way race with independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who garnered 5%.
Across the swing states, Mr. Trump is leading, at least slightly, in all of them, according to a RealClearPolitics average of recent polls.
A Hill/Emerson poll released Tuesday showed Mr. Trump sweeping the battlegrounds, with leads from 1 to 5 percentage points in all seven swing states, including polling that factored in Mr. Kennedy.
Mr. Biden suffers from record-low approval ratings. An average 65% of voters believe the country is headed in the wrong direction under his leadership.
Mr. Trump’s campaign team argues that the numbers prove Mr. Biden’s generous campaign spending is not helping.
“Clearly, the $30 million that Biden spent in March made no impact. President Trump maintains a 6-point lead across seven battleground states,” Trump campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement.
They pointed to another poll by Bloomberg News/Morning Consult that showed the former president narrowly defeating Mr. Biden in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and beating him by larger margins in Georgia, Arizona, Nevada and North Carolina.
Political analysts say overflowing campaign coffers can close the gap on Election Day, which is the only poll that matters.
“Organization is going to be vital because the election could boil down to less than 100,000 voters, and each campaign should be locking their infrastructure in place as soon as possible,” Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said.
Mr. Biden is bolstered by a significant cash advantage from his campaign and the Democratic National Committee, according to Federal Election Commission data. That money is spent on hiring staff, opening offices and buying advertising.
The Biden campaign committee ended the first quarter with $85.5 million on hand, compared with the Trump campaign’s $45.1 million. The DNC finished March with $45.2 million to spend. The Republican National Committee had $21.6 million left in its coffers.
Campaign spending advantages don’t always win elections, but they provide critical funding for organization and staffing on the ground, which has historically played a key role in getting out the vote and helping candidates win, particularly in swing states likely to be decided by razor-thin margins.
The Trump campaign, meanwhile, is facing unusual financial obstacles, namely legal costs associated with the former president’s four ongoing criminal cases. One trial has sidelined the candidate in daily court hearings.
A Trump-aligned political action committee, Save America, spent $3.7 million on legal expenses in March alone.
Democrats plan to use part of their campaign cash advantage to draw out voters on the abortion issue in swing states after the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.
Emboldened Democrats are also trying to put Republican-leaning Florida into play.
A campaign aide said the Biden campaign has opened an office in the Tampa area and plans to open offices across the state. Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have made several visits to the state as a new law limiting abortion after six weeks of pregnancy takes effect.
The campaign launched a seven-figure ad buy in April in Arizona, where the state Supreme Court recently validated the reestablishment of an 1864 law outlawing all abortions in the state.
Biden campaign national spokeswoman Mia Ehrenberg said the campaign is spending money to connect with voters early while Mr. Trump is tied up in court.
“Elections are won by putting in the work to reach undecided voters — showing up, meeting them where they are, and talking to them about the issues they care most about,” she said. “Donald Trump and his campaign don’t seem to get how to win an election. When he’s not busy with his various personal trials and tribulations, or screaming his support for banning abortion, he’s either yelling at those who disagree with him, hosting an occasional rally for his base, or golfing. Joe Biden is putting in the work to win this November — Trump is not. It’s that simple.”
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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