Biden campaign targeting voters who chose Haley in Pennsylvania GOP primary
The Biden campaign is going after Republicans who voted for former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley after the former presidential candidate received more than 150,000 votes in Tuesday’s GOP primary in Pennsylvania.
Haley, who dropped out of the race two months ago, took more than 16 percent of the total votes. Former President Trump still easily won the primary, with more than 80 percent of the vote as of the latest count.
The Biden campaign noted the significant number of Pennsylvania Republicans who “rejected Donald Trump” and dropped a 30-second ad titled “If you voted for Nikki Haley…” as part of its ongoing effort to court her voters.
The ad opens with Trump calling Haley “bird brain” and reads, “If you voted for Nikki Haley … Donald Trump doesn’t want your vote.” It also includes Trump calling Haley an angry person, saying she’s not presidential and other criticisms.
The ad aims to underscore Trump’s insults of Haley and her supporters and to target disaffected Republicans turned off by the former president, according to the Biden campaign. It will run this month on digital platforms, YouTube, connected TV, and online video across battleground states, focused on predominantly suburban areas where Haley performed well against Trump.
“The choice in this race is clear, and Pennsylvanians of both parties are already choosing Joe Biden’s Scranton values over Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago values. Pennsylvania deserves better than a candidate who’s too preoccupied with his own legal problems to talk to them face to face, and their votes prove that they know it,” said Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler.
As soon as Haley dropped out of the GOP primary, the Biden campaign activated its strategy to try to get her supporters into his camp.
The campaign previously dropped an ad that also featured clips of Trump criticizing Haley during the GOP primary, with the warning, “If you voted for Nikki Haley, Donald Trump doesn’t want your vote.” Biden’s team has also released a statement arguing that Trump has been clear that voters who aren’t part of MAGA aren’t welcome in his camp.
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