Harris brings her ad blitz to Fox News

• The Harris campaign on Wednesday began running four spots on the network, a Fox News spokesperson confirmed to Axios.
• The ads are largely positive about Harris' life, a sharp contrast with the network's often-critical programming about her.
• The Biden campaign ran Fox News ads in 2023 to counterprogram the first GOP primary debate, as Semafor reported.

The big picture: The new buy is part of a much larger, more expensive battle between the Harris and Trump campaigns to define Harris in the first weeks after she became the nominee.

• The vast majority of the ads are about Harris as the Trump team tries to blunt her momentum and the Harris team is attempting to keep it going, according to an Axios review.

Zoom in: "Kamala Harris knows what it's like to be middle class," the narrator says in one ad about Harris' upbringing.

• In an attempt to draw a contrast with the former president, the narrator adds that "Donald Trump has no plan to help the middle class."

What they're saying: The Harris campaign directed Axios to a memo from senior leadership earlier this week about its large ad buy in August.

• "It is precisely through efforts like this that we will break through a crowded media environment early and make clear the choice and stakes of this election for the voters who will decide it," principal deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks said.

By the numbers: From July 21, when President Biden dropped out, through Labor Day on Sept. 2, both campaigns are set to spend over $300 million on TV and digital ads, according to the ad tracking firm AdImpact.

• The Harris team — including outside super PACs — has spent or has reservations for $96 million in TV ads across that date range compared to $146 million booked by Trump's team.
• With the introduction of Harris, both teams are spending far more in August than they did in 2020.