President Donald Trump's reelection campaign has reportedly pre-booked $16 million in television spots in key battleground states for the fall as his poll numbers in those states have been sliding recently to Democrat Joe Biden.
CNBC reports that the ad tracking firms Advertising Analytics and Medium Buying say that the campaign has reserved advertising time beginning in September in Arizona, Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Trump won all six states to Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016, but a recent New York Times Upshot/ Sienna College survey shows the president trailing Biden in Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida.
According to Advertising Analytics, the campaign is spending $16 million in Arizona, Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin. Medium Buying said Trump began buying ads in Georgia — typically a Republican stalwart in presidential elections — on Saturday.
Trump has faced increasing scrutiny by critics over his response to the coronavirus pandemic and to the George Floyd protests.
CNBC cited unnamed sources on the campaign that see Trump down even in Georgia and North Carolina, but they also see New Hampshire, Minnesota and Nevada in play for the president. Clinton won those last three states in 2016.
The sources also said internal campaign polls show Trump widely ahead in Texas, Ohio and Florida, even though public polls show Biden leading in all three states. Still, even Trump's internal polls show him behind in the Electoral College count, they said.