Joe Biden Campaign Releases First Ad Featuring Kamala Harris
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s campaign released its first ad featuring California Sen. Kamala Harris on Saturday, ABC News reported.
The 30-second video clip begins in Spanish and ends in English, making this Biden’s first bilingual ad this election cycle.
“Tell me who you walk with, and I’ll tell you who you are,” the narrator can be heard saying in Spanish, as footage of the former VP and Harris flashes on screen.
“Now Joe confirmed he’s walking with perfect company. An ally and a fighter for the Latino community for years, Kamala is the final piece of the puzzle,” the ad continues in English.
The stop will run on YouTube and target Latino communities in the states of Florida and Arizona.
Biden has struggled to make inroads with Hispanic voters ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
Those supportive of President Donald Trump have sought to use the situation to their advantage.
Earlier this month, the Committee to Defend the President, a Trump-allied super PAC, released a Spanish-language advertisement blasting the former vice president for failing to consider more than one Hispanic politician to be his running mate.
In the Democratic Party’s presidential primaries, Biden enjoyed tremendous support among Black voters and moderates, while most Latinos backed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The apparent lack of support among Hispanics could be an issue for Biden in November. In 2016, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won between 66 and 79 percent of the Hispanic vote and still lost. The former Delaware senator’s support among this group has oscillated between 45 and 62 percent.
It remains to be seen whether Harris — who is the first woman of color on a major party ticket — will help the Democratic nominee improve his standing in this community, but she has already helped him raise money.
In the 48 hours since Biden announced Harris as his running mate, his campaign raised $48 million.
This and next week, Biden is expected to spend $44 million on print, digital, television and radio advertisements.
On ads in Latino, African-American, Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities, Biden’s team is expected to spend $290 million this fall.
Harris discussed Biden’s decision to put her on the ticket on Friday, praising him for breaking longstanding barriers in U.S. politics.
“Joe Biden had the audacity to choose a Black woman to be his running mate. How incredible is that? That he decided he was going to do that thing that was about breaking one of the most substantial barriers that has existed in our country — and he made that decision with whatever risk that brings,” she said.
