Trump Super PAC Rakes in $70 Million, Plans to Spend in Georgia
(Bloomberg) -- A super political action committee supporting Donald Trump raised $70 million in May and is outlining a strategy to target voters in key swing states in the coming months, a sign of how Republicans are seizing on the surge in donations following the former president’s conviction in a New York court.
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The super PAC, MAGA Inc., will spend at least $100 million through early September in key states, including Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, according to the memo obtained by Bloomberg News. That’s in addition to the $11.2 million it’s already spent in Pennsylvania, with plans to spend more targeting up-for-grab voters there.
The substantial fundraising haul — more than five times what the group raised in April — and the advertising play demonstrates how Trump’s political operation is going on offense after the presumptive Republican nominee was found guilty by a New York jury last week of falsifying business records to conceal a payment to an adult film actress.
Trump and the Republican National Committee also reported raising $141 million in May, the most yet for the campaign, on the heels of the verdict, a tally that puts them in position to narrow a fundraising gap with President Joe Biden.
The strategy shows that Trump allies see four states as crucial targets for victory in November: Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada. The memo indicates the group anticipates Trump maintaining a large lead in North Carolina, a reliably Republican state in presidential elections, without significant advertising. It did not outline any plans to spend in Wisconsin or Michigan, two other swing states.
The New York Times first reported the details of the memo written by MAGA Inc. chief executive officer Taylor Budowich. The super PAC has yet to report its May totals to the Federal Election Commission, so the number cannot be independently verified.
Biden and Trump are virtually tied in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, the northern industrial states that have become known as the “Blue Wall” because of their importance to Democrats’ hopes of winning the White House, according to a May Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll. Trump is leading in the Sun Belt states of Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina, the survey found.
The Biden campaign and its allies for months have been spending on messages to reach out to voters to counter concerns about his age and the economy. The president’s team has also recently increased spending on messaging to target Black and Latino voters, two groups the Trump-allied super PAC also says it plans to reach.
“We may not be able to outspend Democrats, but we can ensure the messages that are being distributed are done so using the targeting that each individual voter requires,” Budowich wrote, arguing that despite heavy spending by Democrats that they are “struggling to move the needle.”
MAGA Inc. played a key role in helping Trump win primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire, spending more than $20 million in the early voting states before diverting its attention to the general election, according to AdImpact data compiled by Bloomberg News. Since Trump effectively locked up the Republican nomination in March, the super PAC has directed 97% of its broadcast spending in Pennsylvania, with the rest going to Georgia.
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