The Biden-Harris campaign is working to pull TV ads slated to air during the Copa América final, a campaign spokesperson told The Hill on Sunday.
The campaign suspended its campaign messaging following the assassination attempt against former President Trump on Saturday.
It’s unclear whether all ads will be taken down before the tournament’s final airs at 8 p.m. EDT because they are generally reserved on individual affiliate stations.
Biden’s campaign made a seven-figure investment in advertising around the tournament, and Trump last Tuesday launched a new Spanish-language ad slated to run in key markets on Univisión during the semifinals and finals.
Trump’s ad leans heavily on economic issues, blaming Biden for inflation, and Biden’s ad — the one that’s being pulled from the final — features an economic message contrasting Biden’s and Trump’s records.
Argentina and Colombia are playing the final in Miami on Sunday evening; Uruguay beat Canada on penalty kicks for third place Saturday.
Other campaigns across the political spectrum jumped on the Copa América bandwagon as an access point to Hispanic voters following the Pan-American soccer tournament.
The tournament’s appeal stretched downballot and with advocacy groups with soccer-themed ads that followed the tenor of each campaign.
“We decided to launch during the Copa America, these ads in particular, and add them to … our existing campaign, because we know the role that soccer plays in the households in the familias of our community,” said Yadira Sánchez, executive director of Poder Latinx, an advocacy group that ran Copa América ads to support its “Nos Ayuda a Vivir” campaign promoting the Clean Energy Plan.
Two states featured heavily in the tournament: Florida, the home of Inter Miami CF — Argentine superstar Lionel Messi’s club team — is hosting the final featuring its new hometown hero, and Arizona, where Colombia began its knockout phase with a 5-0 thrashing of Panama in the quarter finals.
Arizona’s University of Phoenix stadium hosted the June 30 first round Mexico-Ecuador 0-0 match that saw Mexico, by far the most popular soccer team in the United States, eliminated.
In Florida, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) launched a TV and digital six-figure campaign around the tournament. His challenger, former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Fla.), followed suit with her own buy on streaming platforms.
Scott’s ad, “Gooool,” featured the senator as a soccer star leading “Equipo Libertad” against “Los Socialistas” led by Mucarsel-Powell.
Scott’s warnings of socialism reflect a pitch that’s been especially successful in Florida.
“Senator Scott’s ad that is running during the Copa America tournament reminds Floridians how one of his opponents voted with socialists in Congress over 90% of the time. That’s why she was rejected once and will be rejected again in November,” Team Rick Scott spokesperson Jonathan Turcotte told The Hill in a recent email.
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) ran his own campaign, which included a community watch party of the quarter-final game in Arizona, where Colombia thrashed Panama 5-0.
Arizona also hosted Mexico’s elimination, a predictable-if-heartbreaking result that ended the tournament run for a team followed by about 60 million U.S. Latinos.
The U.S. men’s national team, another potential crowd favorite, was also eliminated in the first round.
“We’re still investing in the Copa America finals as an opportunity where we know folks in general are going to be watching the finals. Of course, they’d be watching them more passionately if it was their team, we know that, but we still know the audience will be there,” said Sánchez.
The messages behind the soccer-themed campaigns highlighted the issues advocates and candidates believed would connect with voters.
Non-partisan ads like Poder Latinx’s also sought to educate Hispanic voters on benefits they may be eligible for but unaware of.
“We also know that still, a large majority of the Latino population is unaware of the benefits of the [Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)], the Clean Energy Plan. So we are using this opportunity to inform the community of still all the available resources that could allow them to first combat the climate crisis, but also allow them to save money,” said Sánchez.
“So we are intentionally doing this because we also know that the IRA, some of the climate provisions are going to be coming online, we want to make sure that folks are informed of the benefits and like how this could allow them to save money now.”
Updated July 15 at 12:40 p.m. EDT