In an effort to boost voter turnout in Miami — in particular among young voters, Black voters, and low-frequency Democratic voters — Mike Bloomberg’s Independence USA PAC just dropped an ad featuring Barack Obama championing Biden as the candidate with "the character and experience to make us a better country.”
“Miami, I’m asking you to remember what this country can be," Obama says in the spot.
"For eight years, I saw Joe up close. He made me a better president. So let’s get to work, Florida. Let’s bring this home.”
Kevin Sheekey, advisor to Mike Bloomberg, added:
“Miami-Dade is a county with a high percentage of Democratic voters, and it is urgent that we get as many to the polls as possible."
“I hope that people in Miami understand the important role they will play in determining this election and hear President Obama’s direct call. Miami needs to show up and vote for Joe Biden.”
A rush of new ads have debuted on airwaves in these last days of the presidential race in Texas and Ohio, two traditionally red states in which Donald Trump finds himself newly vulnerable.
Produced byMike Bloomberg’s Independence USA PAC, the spots are part of Bloomberg’s commitment to spend $15 million in the two states to encourage voters to cast their ballots for Biden and Kamala Harris.
Watch the ads here:
"At Capacity in El Paso" focuses on the Texas town where hospitals ran out of beds this week due to a Covid surge — and calls out Trump for ignoring the facts as he continues to say the virus is "going to disappear" (below left).
"What's Wrong With This Picture?" harks back to the infamous Sept. 26 Rose Garden ceremony at the White House, where at least 11 Covid infections spread among a mostly mask-less crowd (below right).
"Economy and the Middle Class" highlights Biden's pledge of tax cuts for the middle class. “Joe Biden will help us get ahead,” the ad says, “with more money in our pockets" (below left).
"Joe's Plan to Rebuild" features Biden’s vow to win the trade war, increase the minimum wage and rebuild manufacturing (below right).
"Covid Spiking in Texas," the first of two new Spanish-language ads airing in Texas, calls out Trump's dismissive attitude toward the virus and those who have been impacted. "Things aren’t getting better," the ad says, "rather they are getting worse and we are suffering" (below left).
"Valentia" — Spanish for "Bravery" — illustrates Biden’s ability to lead in a crisis. Produced in partnership with the Somos PAC, the spot uses examples from the great recession and Ebola’s threat to show Biden as a leader who will steer the U.S. through the Covid crisis (below right).
The Final Push: How Campaigns Mobilize.
As we enter the final Get Out the Vote (GOTV) weekend, both presidential campaigns are using all of their digital tools to mobilize supporters.
While most paid ads are now driving to voting information sites, the candidate's own websites show different approaches to volunteer engagement.
While both campaigns are still soliciting phone calls and donations, the Trump campaign is steering volunteers to its "Election Day Team" and to report an "incident" at the polls.
Biden's page encourages users to create social media graphics and register for organizing events via Mobilize. The Mobilize platform accounts for the second most traffic leaving Biden's site (about 10%).
Mobilization efforts are also happening on Snapchat and Instagram. The Biden campaign itself has spent $3.1 million on Snapchat, the most of any political advertiser this cycle.On Instagram, Mike Bloomberg is using filters to help get out the early vote.
Mike Bloomberg is pumping as much as $20 million into three relatively low-profile state races that he thinks can build support for renewable energy and oversight of utilities and oil and gas companies.
He is seeking to boost a candidate for the Texas Railroad Commission; a slate of three Democrats for the Arizona Corporation Commission; and a state lawmaker running to become North Carolina’s next lieutenant governor and who would chair that state’s energy council.
“We are looking at races that would have an impact on utilities and getting states to 100 percent clean economies,” said Brynne Craig, the campaign manager for the Bloomberg-backed Beyond Carbon.
“Mike has believed that we need federal action but that we also need state action, and you can’t have one without the other.”
Reminder: For those who observe Daylight Saving Time, turn your clocks back tonight and enjoy an extra hour of slumber. And if you're in the U.S., use that extra hour to get your ballot to a drop-box, if you haven't yet.
Experts say the wave of outbreaks now sweeping the U.S. has been caused by small, intimate gatherings between people who are indoors, in close quarters, to talk or laugh or sing, without wearing masks.
As gut-wrenching as this may be, one of the most obvious ways to mitigate further viral spread will be for as many people as possible to stay home this holiday season.
Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day weekend were all followed by measurable spikes in case counts. The fall and winter holidays are likely to be much worse, because they tend to involve more travel and indoor gatherings, the Times editorial board writes.
As former Baltimore Health Commissioner Leana Wen wrote in the Washington Post: Don’t let everything we’ve sacrificed already be wasted. By this time next year, we could well have a vaccine and multiple therapeutics that will make it safer for us to travel and see one another. But first we need to stay healthy and get through this winter.
All In: The Fight for Democracy Stacey Abrams relates her experience in her razor-thin loss to Brian Kemp, who as Georgia’s secretary of state had a pivotal role overseeing the election.
537 Votes The movie returns to Florida 2000 to chronicle the divergent paths of strategy employed by outfoxed Democrats and win-at-all-costs Republicans in the historic recount between George W. Bush and Al Gore.
The Fight The piece focuses on the ACLU's battles against the Trump administration, giving an intimate look at the attorneys in cases including LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights and reproductive rights.
Not Done: Women Remaking America The PBS documentary looks back on the last few years of the women’s movement, starting with the Women’s March the day after the inauguration of Trump.
Boys State The doc films the Boys State camp in Texas, where some 1,100 17- and 18-year-old boys annually gather to create a mock government with two parties.
Plus, what Howard Wolfson will be watching this weekend:
The Mandalorian The first episode of Season 2, released Friday, suggests that the Disney+ space western probably won’t move far, far away from what worked last year, says the New York Times.
Instagram of the Week.
Looking for Lincoln Across America: Bloomberg Opinion’s Frank Barry has been traveling across America along the Lincoln Highway for nearly two months, with the goal of reaching San Francisco by Election Day.
Check out Frank's recent shot from Laramee, Wyoming, where 150 years ago, Louisa Swain became America's first woman voter. Follow @looking4lincoln on Instagram for Frank's frequent updates.
Global Leaders Connect on Covid.
More than 1,000 people representing 110 countriesattended Thursday’s Partnership for Healthy Cities virtual discussion, which exploredhow city leaders are collaborating globally to guide us through the pandemic.
“City governments have the powerto improve the health of people around the world,” Mike Bloomberg said as he opened the event, which was supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the World Health Organization and Vital Strategies. “I saw that as mayor of New York City, when we increased life expectancy by three years."
Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus,the Director-General of the World Health Organization,called Bloomberg “a champion of public health for decades.”
On the topic of Covid, Dr. Ghebreyesus said,“nowhere has the impact of this virus been more evident than in urban areas, home to more than 50% of the world's population.”
Dr. Kelly Henning, who leads the public health program for Bloomberg Philanthropies, added that “urban governments have mounted a remarkable response, and they will continue to face daunting challenges as the virus becomes a longer-term reality.”
On polls showing Joe Biden leading across key battleground states:
“Snap out of it, Colbert. Don’t believe the polls. You promised yourself after the last election that you would not ‘Pokemon Go’ down that road again. “ -- Stephen Colbert
“These polls are designed to keep you up all night mainlining Xanax and digging through cross tabs: ‘All right, let’s see here. Biden is overperforming with liberal suburban women under 35 who drink Tazo tea and play tennis, but underperforming with centrist NASCAR dads over 50 who refer to the bathroom as their office.’” -- Seth Meyers
"Trump and Biden were both campaigning down in Tampa Bay, Florida on the same day. People in Tampa were like, 'Come on, we just lost the World Series and how we have to deal with this?'"
-- Jimmy Fallon
“Trump went to Tampa and this was nice: He brought some frozen Nebraska supporters so they could thaw out.”
-- Jimmy Fallon
“As for Trump, you could tell his campaign is low on money because he asked Biden if he wanted to split an Uber back to the airport.”
-- Jimmy Fallon
"Even though some people are skipping Halloween this year, sales of candy and chocolate are up more than 8% compared to last year. The only chocolate bar that isn't selling well is Hershey's 'Whatchamacovid'"
-- Jimmy Fallon
On Denny's selling a ham, egg and cheese sandwich with blue bread for Halloween:
"So, remember, even though Halloween is cancelled you can still make it much, much worse."
-- Jimmy Fallon
Thank you for reading!
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