A Democratic outside group is scouring the nation for everyday Americans who have been hurt by Donald Trump's first presidency and will warn voters of the dangers he continues to pose.
The group American Bridge 21st Century developed 732 leads and conducted 472 interviews before filming about 50 voters who will appear in a $140 million ad campaign aimed at women and working-class voters to remind them why they rejected the ex-president in 2020, the organization's leaders told the Washington Post.
“The hardest part about using the most powerful messengers in politics, which are real people from these communities, is finding them,” said Bradley Beychok, co-founder of American Bridge.
The ads will feature working-class women from swing states and focus on Trump's role in restricting abortion access and fomenting the Jan. 6 insurrection, and they will contrast President Joe Biden's economic policies with Republican plans for cutting entitlements.
ALSO READ: Birtherism is back. But these top GOPers are tired of Trump’s citizenship conspiracies.
“Our goal is to be the best in class at finding real people to say why they want to elect Joe Biden and why they want to prevent Trump from winning another term,” Beychok said. “The secret sauce is abortion and freedom plus democracy has been greater than all the Republican lunacy we have seen.”
Two staffers in each state started searching through social media and reaching out to partner organizations to find individuals who might have stories to share with voters, and both American Bridge and its partner Future Forward USA Action have the tacit support of the White House and the president's team.
“American Bridge was a great strategic partner in 2020, and I’m glad they are on board again in 2024,” said Anita Dunn, a White House senior adviser.
American Bridge is expected to have a $200 million budget in this election cycle, according to two sources, and will launch a targeted research effort against potential third-party challengers to the president, and most of their work will be aimed at northern swing states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
“We’re leaving no stone unturned and making sure that voters — especially women voters — in these key states know just how much is at stake in November,” American Bridge co-chair Cecile Richards in a statement.
Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) speaks outside the U.S. Capitol on May 19, 2021. Lamborn was late disclosing up to $150,000 in stock purchases. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) speaks during a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on gun violence on June 8, 2022. Grothman violated the STOCK Act again with late savings bond disclosures. (Photo by Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images)