President Biden, trailing former President Donald Trump in the seven swing states that could decide the 2024 election, sees a path to victory by outgunning the Trump team with a powerful ground game funded by a significant campaign cash advantage.
While the Trump campaign has been largely silent about plans to ramp up battleground-state staffing, offices and advertising, the Biden campaign is boasting about opening 130 coordinated campaign offices and hiring hundreds of staff “across the battlegrounds,” according to a campaign aide.
The Biden campaign is also outspending the Trump campaign on advertising in swing states, according to AdImpact, which tracks campaign advertising.
The Biden campaign in March touted a six-week, $30 million ad blitz in the seven swing states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina.
As of last week, the Biden campaign had already spent $15.3 million on campaign advertising in the seven key states, compared to the Trump campaign’s $1.2 million in those states, according to RealClearPolitics.
The Biden team is beefing up campaign efforts amid daunting poll numbers favoring Mr. Trump.
A new Harvard CAPS-Harris poll released Monday found Mr. Trump leading Mr. Biden 44% to 38% in a three-way race with independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who garnered 5%.
Across the swing states, Trump is leading, at least slightly, in all of them, according to a RealClearPolitics average of recent polls.
A Hill/Emerson poll released Tuesday showed Mr. Trump sweeping the battlegrounds, with leads from 1 to 5 points in all seven swing states, including polling that factored in Mr. Kennedy.
Mr. Biden suffers from record-low approval ratings and on average, 65% of voters believe the country is headed in the wrong direction under his leadership.
Mr. Trump’s campaign team argues the numbers prove Mr. Biden‘s generous campaign spending is not helping him.
“Clearly, the $30 million that Biden spent in March made no impact. President Trump maintains a 6-point lead across seven battleground states,” Trump campaign advisors Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement.
The duo pointed to another poll conducted by Bloomberg News/Morning Consult that showed the former president narrowly beating Mr. Biden in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and beating him by larger margins in Georgia, Arizona, Nevada and North Carolina.
But political analysts say overflowing campaign coffers can close the gap on Election Day, which is the only poll that matters.
“Organization is going to be vital because the election could boil down to less than 100,000 voters and each campaign should be locking their infrastructure in place as soon as possible,” Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said.
Mr. Biden is bolstered by a significant cash advantage from both his campaign and the Democratic National Committee, according to Federal Election Commission data. That money is being spent on hiring staff, opening offices and buying advertising.
The Biden campaign committee ended the first quarter with $85.5 million on hand, compared to the Trump campaign’s $45.1 million. The DNC finished March with $45.2 million to spend, while the Republican National Committee had $21.6 million left in its coffers.
Campaign spending advantages don’t always win elections but they provide critical funding for organization and staffing on the ground, which has historically played a key role in getting out the vote and helping candidates win, particularly in swing states that are likely to be decided by razor-thin margins.
The Trump campaign, meanwhile, is facing unusual financial obstacles, namely legal costs associated with the former president’s four ongoing criminal trials, one of which has sidelined the candidate in daily court hearings.
A Trump-aligned political action committee, Save America, spent $3.7 million on legal expenses in March alone.
Democrats, meanwhile, plan to use part of their campaign cash advantage to draw out voters on the abortion issue in swing states following the Supreme Court decision to throw out Roe v. Wade, the ruling that legalized abortion.
Emboldened Democrats are also trying to put Republican-leaning Florida in play.
The Biden campaign opened an office in the Tampa area earlier this month with plans to open offices across the state, a campaign aide said. Mr. Biden and Vice President Harris also have made several visits to the Sunshine State as a new law limiting abortion after six weeks of pregnancy takes effect.
The campaign launched a seven-figure ad buy this month in Arizona, where the state Supreme Court recently validated the reestablishment of an 1864 law outlawing all abortions in the state.
Biden campaign national spokeswoman Mia Ehrenberg said the campaign is spending money connecting with voters early, while Mr. Trump is tied up in court.
“Elections are won by putting in the work to reach undecided voters — showing up, meeting them where they are, and talking to them about the issues they care most about,” she said. “Donald Trump and his campaign don’t seem to get how to win an election. When he’s not busy with his various personal trials and tribulations, or screaming his support for banning abortion, he’s either yelling at those who disagree with him, hosting an occasional rally for his base, or golfing. Joe Biden is putting in the work to win this November — Trump is not. It’s that simple.”