Politics

With $466 Million On Hand, Biden Launches Ads Hoping To Flip Iowa And Georgia

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Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is launching ads in Iowa and Georgia, two states that President Donald Trump won in 2016.

The latest ad buys bring Biden’s digital battleground map to 12 states, 10 of which Trump won four years ago, and reflects his campaign’s pledge to establish “multiple paths” to winning 270 electoral votes, the Associated Press reported.

Biden’s campaign announced Sunday that it had $466 million on hand at the beginning of September. The announcement followed a $365 million August fundraising total.

Both Trump’s campaign and the Republican party announced that it had $325 million on hand at the beginning of September, AP reported.

Biden’s campaign has also placed ad buys in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Arizona and Nebraska, all of which Trump won in 2016. The campaign has also spent money in Nevada and Minnesota, two states that Hillary Clinton won four years ago but that the Trump campaign looks to flip in November.

Joe Biden is using a campaign cash advantage over President Donald Trump to add Republican-leaning Georgia and Iowa to his paid media footprint https://t.co/k2ssRXmcI6

— Medium Buying (@MediumBuying) September 21, 2020

The totals reflect a shift in spending from each campaign, with Biden overtaking Trump in recent weeks. From January 2019 through August 2020, Trump spent $240 million on ads compared to Biden’s $165 million, but Biden has committed $210 million towards ads between September and the election, compared to just under $170 million for Trump, according to spending data reported by AP.

Biden has also outspent Trump in Florida and Pennsylvania, according to CNN.

“Florida and Pennsylvania are two of the biggest prizes for either candidate and probably must-wins for both Trump and Biden,” CNN contributor Nathan Gonzales told the outlet. “It’s hard to replace 29 or 20 electoral votes with another state.”

Biden is slightly favored to win both states, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Biden’s total does not include fundraising amounts from over the weekend following the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. ActBlue, Democrats’ main fundraising platform, raised over $71 million in the 24 hours after her death, according to AP, and announced that it surpassed the $100 million mark on Sunday.