Scoop: Pro-Biden groups blitz the airwaves
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A new seven-figure ad campaign by a pro-Biden super PAC aims to boost the president's standing in a trio of battleground states where his flagging approval rating could drag down Democrats in key midterm contests, Axios has learned.
Driving the news: Unite the Country's 30-second spot addresses persistent economic turmoil, saying, "President Biden has a plan to bring America back" by fighting inflation, supply shortages and price gouging.
- The ad will begin running on Friday on cable and TV streaming services in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, according to UTC chief of staff Amanda Loveday.
- News of the ad comes hours after another pro-Biden outside group, the nonprofit Building Back Together, announced a six-figure ad buy hailing recent gun safety legislation and targeting Black and Latino audiences in Pennsylvania, Nevada and Wisconsin.
Why it matters: The ad buys represent a substantial investment by outside Biden allies in shoring up his political standing at a crucial moment for the party.
- Biden's approval rating is the lowest of any post-war president at this stage in his first term.
- And he's contending with a barrage of bad financial news — most recently, U.S. inflation reaching a 40-year high.
Between the lines: UTC chief executive Steve Schale told Axios his group's ad is aimed at independents and swing voters who, UTC feels, can be swayed by messaging on the president's efforts to combat economic shocks.
- In survey research UTC conducted last month, those voters "moved substantially as they learned some of the components of the work the administration does to keep the economy moving forward and tackling inflation," Schale said.
In a polling memo shared with donors last month and obtained by Axios, Schale argued that — while Biden's political standing is perilous — voters in key states are just as dissatisfied with Republican opposition.
- Those voters "are open to and persuaded by the president’s work on inflation," he wrote.
- "The more frequently we can tell this story to the largest number of voters, the better chance we have at creating a stronger foundation for candidates in individual races to make their own case."
