Biden Campaign Kicks Off General Election With $30 Million Ad Plan, Battleground Rallies

President Joe Biden’s reelection effort will frame the contest between himself and former President Donald Trump as a referendum on the future of America.

President Joe Biden departs after delivering the State of the Union address during a joint meeting of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 7, 2024. Win McNamee/Getty Images

The Biden campaign will kick off the general election season with a $30 million ad spend, according to a statement from the president’s reelection effort.

On March 8, following his overtly political State of the Union address the previous evening, President Joe Biden’s principal campaign committee, Biden for President, announced it would “launch a $30 million, six-week paid media campaign, dramatically expand volunteer engagement, multiply our battleground staff, and launch key coalition groups.”

The release said the committee had its “best fundraising day since launch” on March 7, fueled by the presidential address. That followed on the heels of what it called the “best grassroots fundraising month since the campaign’s launch.”

The Biden campaign has claimed it can tap into more than $130 million in cash pooled from its various political funds and the Democratic National Committee in 2024. While the entirety of the Biden cash operation did not report its fundraising activities in February, Biden for President said it had nearly $56 million at the end of January. The DNC told the Federal Election Committee it had about $24.1 million in the bank at the same time.

The Biden campaign release said the $30 million buy will cover six weeks and target voters in so-called battleground states with a message casting President Biden as a fighter “for the American people” and his Republican Party rival, President Trump, as “running a campaign of revenge and retribution.”

“This buy will target battleground states and include placements that prioritize high-impact and non-traditional TV opportunities, including advertising on Black and Hispanic-owned outlets and culture and sports programming such as Comedy Central and ESPN, while also leveraging key moments like the March Madness basketball tournament,” the release said. “In a testament to the high importance and reach of digital outlets, this buy will also make significant investments online, alongside intentional and sizable buys into Hispanic, African American, and [Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander] outlets and radio.”

This $30 million purchase follows up a $25 million, 16-week operation the campaign ran last fall.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump greets supporters after speaking on Super Tuesday at Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., on March 5, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

With Super Tuesday victories across the country on March 5 and former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley dropping out on March 6, President Trump informally locked up his third-straight GOP presidential nomination this week. Also, on March 8, the Republican National Committee installed new leaders who are loyal to President Trump. The new-look RNC will likely become an extension of his campaign. President Trump will get the official nod at the Republican National Convention, July 15-18, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Along with spending on advertising, the Biden campaign announced it would be hitting the road with both the president and Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as their spouses, hosting campaign events in the battleground states in the coming weeks. President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden were set to appear near Philadelphia on Friday afternoon before heading to Georgia on March 9.

The president’s agenda, according to the release, calls for visits to New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Michigan the following week. Ms. Harris will travel to Arizona and Nevada.

Finally, the campaign intends to grow its battleground state staff network to 350 from 100. Also, Biden for President said it would open 100 new offices across the country.

“Our battleground staff are using this month to grow and train our volunteer base through regular training and big mobilization moments, like the Affordable Care Act anniversary,” the Biden for President release said. “Donald Trump has no announced battleground state staff or programs and will be inheriting virtually zero infrastructure from hollowed-out state parties.”

The campaign and its staff will work to train volunteers to work directly with voters, share digital content, combat “disinformation online,” canvass the electorate, and call or text in phone banking efforts.

In the future, the campaign will announce a number of volunteer coalition groups “supported by a full-time coalitions staff.” The reelection campaign already introduced Women for Biden, a group focused on organizing the female electorate in the key states of the 2024 election.