DNC books $22 million in fall YouTube ads

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced on Monday that it had booked more than $22 million in fall-scheduled YouTube advertisements across 14 battleground states ahead of the November presidential election. 

The reservation is the single largest by any Democratic group so far. In 10 of the states — Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Minnesota, Maine, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia — the ads will begin running on Oct. 1 and will continue through Election Day on Nov. 3. 

In four other states — Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — the ads will begin on Sept. 1 and will run through Election Day, the DNC said. 

“Now more than ever, it’s critical that we reach voters where they are online — and this digital program will help us mobilize the voters we need to make Donald Trump a one-term president,” DNC Chairman Tom Perez said in a statement. 

“By making these kinds of historic, early investments in our battlegrounds and campaign infrastructure, the DNC is putting our eventual nominee and Democrats running at every level of the ballot in the strongest possible position to secure victory in November,” he continued.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination, announced last month that he had transferred $18 million to the DNC to bolster its general election efforts. 

The DNC said the ads will be geared toward get-out-the-vote efforts supporting the eventual Democratic nominee, as well as down-ballot candidates.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the prohibitive front-runner in the Democratic nominating contest, has also ramped up digital ad spending over the past month. His campaign spent more than $7 million on Facebook and Google advertising in March, according to Bully Pulpit Interactive, a Democratic digital firm that tracks online ad spending.

Patrick Stevenson, the DNC’s chief mobilization officer, said the recent coronavirus pandemic only reinforced the Democratic committee’s desire to bolster its digital outreach efforts, as a growing number of Americans spend more time online and at home.

“Before the coronavirus hit, the DNC was already preparing an aggressive general election online strategy — and the pandemic has only reinforced the importance of communicating with voters across a wide range of online channels and utilizing a variety of innovative, data-driven digital tactics,” Stevenson said in a statement.

“That’s the approach we’re taking, and these ads will be another important tool that will help our eventual nominee and Democrats running at every level win in November,” he said.