Just days into her new role as the Democratic Party's likely presidential nominee, Kamala Harris is already facing a wave of Republican-backed attack ads questioning her personality, her progressive record and what she knew about President Joe Biden's decline.
But for now, at least, Democrats have yet to engage in the summertime advertising fight. And in a sharp reversal from much of the year, Republicans are suddenly dominating the airways.
Overall, Trump and his allies are outspending Harris' team 25-to-1 on television and radio advertising — more than $68 million for Republicans compared to just $2.6 million for Democrats — in the period that began on Monday, the day after Biden stepped aside, through the end of August, according to an AP analysis of data compiled by the media tracking firm AdImpact.
The stunning disparity reflects actual spending for this week and reservations for subsequent weeks, which will almost certainly change in the coming days. But for now, the numbers highlight a dangerous imbalance for Democrats at the very moment that millions of voters are re-shaping their opinions of the Vice President, who has spent much of the last four years in Biden's shadow.
Some Harris allies are already sounding the alarm.
"Public opinion is like cement. It's soft at first and then it hardens," said Sarah Longwell, co-founder of Republican Voters Against Trump. "The next three weeks are definitive. She needs to define herself before Trump defines her."
To be sure, Harris only earned Biden's endorsement on Sunday. And in the days since, friends and foes agree that she's benefited from a flood of so-called "earned" news media coverage, much of it positive. Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio described it as "Harris' honeymoon" in a memo on Tuesday that predicted a surge in the polls for the Democratic Vice President.
Asked about the advertising disparity, Harris spokesperson Kevin Munoz said the vice president "will make her case aggressively alongside a campaign infrastructure designed to win close elections."
"In just 24 hours, Kamala Harris put abortion rights front and center for voters, broke fundraising records, and spun Donald Trump out into a manic and public breakdown — because he knows she is best-equipped to prosecute the case against a convicted felon like himself," he said.
Harris' team has the money to launch a robust advertising campaign whenever it wants to.
Her campaign raised a jaw-dropping $100 million between Sunday afternoon as of Monday night alone. And allies, led by the super PAC Future Forward, received donor commitments of $150 million in the first 24 hours after Biden left the race.
"Obviously, advertising is important and will pick up, but it's not the only factor," said Democratic strategist Josh Schwerin. "With Harris taking over as the presumptive nominee, she's getting wall-to-wall largely positive coverage. ... You always need to take in the context of the entire media ecosystem."
Still, some of the Harris attack ads may be beginning to shape the narrative.
Biden allies privately raised concerns about a new ad from Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick that describes Harris as "the most liberal nominee ever." The ad highlights her progressive positions on immigration, policing, energy and health care. It ends with audio of Harris' loud laugh, which has been a frequent Republican focus.
Trump's campaign has been largely silent on the airwaves since he emerged as his party's presumptive presidential nominee this spring. The delay in ad spending reflected, in part, the former president's financial challenges following an expensive primary and overwhelming legal bills. Backed by allied super PACs that are running tens of millions in ads this summer, however, the Trump campaign can also afford to wait until more voters are paying attention this fall to pour money into advertising.
The pro-Trump Preserve America super PAC, backed by casino magnate Miriam Adelson, has reserved $45 million worth of advertising through the end of August. MAGA Inc. has booked another $23 million.
Democrats, meanwhile, just halted its advertising spending after devoting enormous sums to boost Biden in the weeks and months before he dropped out.
Overall, Biden's campaign spent more than $138 million on advertising between Jan. 1 of this year through Sunday, when he announced his decision to step aside. While much of the advertising went after Trump, the ads also featured Biden, who is no longer a candidate and largely viewed as a political liability for Harris.
It is only a matter of time, days perhaps, before Harris and her allies ramp up their advertising plans.
While AdImpact found only about $2.6 million in Democratic-backed ad reservations through the end of August, the pro-Biden super PAC Future Forward is set to begin rolling out a $129 million advertising campaign in September.
But for now, voters are only seeing presidential ads that knock Harris.
One of them, from MAGA Inc., blames the Vice President for "a border invasion, runaway inflation," and the death of the American dream.
"Kamala knew Joe couldn't do the job, so she did it," says the narrator in the spot that started running Sunday across Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona. "They created this mess. They — no, Kamala — owns this failed record."
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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
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