Hollywood political donors are accustomed to attending high-dollar affairs in Brentwood and Hancock Park. But if they want to see how their money is being spent, they’ll have to head to the Las Vegas Strip.
The Democratic National Committee is unveiling a series of billboards in swing states on Monday, as it launches the paid media campaign for the Kamala Harris–Tim Walz ticket.
The ads — including one on the Strip — draw a contrast between the Democratic ticket (“Fighting for You”) against Donald Trump and JD Vance (“Out for Themselves.”)
The message aligns with the campaign’s biographical TV spot, now on the air, which discusses Harris’ middle class upbringing, and closes with the line: “Being president is about who you fight for. She’s fighting for you.” The campaign said Friday it is putting $50 million behind the ad.
President Biden narrowly won Nevada in 2020, and he had been trailing there by about five points in the polling average when he dropped out of the race last month. More recent polls show a neck-and-neck race in the state, which has six electoral votes.
The DNC is renting billboards with the same message in cities in six other swing states: Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
“In the final weeks leading up to Election Day, voters across the battlegrounds are tuning into the clear choice before them: a vision for America that prioritizes the needs of working people, that prizes our rights and freedoms, and that helps all communities get ahead, or a dark vision that drags us backwards and puts billionaires ahead of working families,” said Abhi Rahman, deputy communications director at the DNC.
The Cook Political Report listed Nevada, Arizona and Georgia as “lean Republican” before Biden dropped out. The handicapper moved each state into “toss up” when Harris became the Democratic nominee. Harris leads by less than a point in the national polling average.
