Benzinga - by Chris Katje, Benzinga Staff Writer.
Former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden are the two frontrunners to win their party's nominations for the 2024 presidential election.
With polls showing a close battle between the candidates, but one trending ahead, a political action committee is ready to spend hundreds of millions on advertising.
What Happened: After being ahead in past months and closer in the race against Trump, Biden has fallen behind Trump in national 2024 election polls.
Biden also trailed Trump in seven swing states, which could help decide the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.
Political Action Committee Future Forward, which is a Democratic super PAC that supports Biden, is ready to spend $250 million in advertising across swing states according to a report from the New York Times.
The $250 million will be split as $140 million for television ads and $110 million for ads on digital and streaming platforms, according to the report.
At $250 million, this marks the largest single purchase by a super PAC for political advertising in American history, according to Future Forward.
The advertisements will begin airing in August, the day after the Democratic National Convention, and last until Election Day in November.
Future Forward has reserved advertising space in the key seven swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Among the largest areas of focus include $16 million and $12 million in the Atlanta, Georgia, and Phoenix, Arizona, TV markets, respectively.
"The stakes of this election could not be higher, and by Election Day, every battleground voter will know it," Future Forward's super PAC President Chauncey McLean said. "We'll run a cost-effective and data-driven program of unprecedented scale to re-elect Joe Biden."
Future Forward spent $151 million on advertising to help Biden in the 2020 election according to the report.
Related Link: Biden Vs. Haley Vs. Trump: Poll Results Show How President Holds Up, If Matchup Boosts Third-Party Voting
Why It's Important: A recent Morning Consult poll showed Biden trailing Trump in all seven swing states, with the following percent of registered voters selecting each candidate.
Arizona: 39% Biden, 45% Trump
Georgia: 41% Biden, 42% Trump
Michigan: 39% Biden, 44% Trump
Nevada: 37% Biden, 44% Trump
North Carolina: 38% Biden, 48% Trump
Pennsylvania: 40% Biden, 44% Trump
Wisconsin: 40% Biden, 43% Trump
The remaining voters selected someone else or don't know as their preferred option.
Together the seven swing states represent 93 electoral votes in the 2024 election. Six of the seven swing states were won by Biden in the 2020 election with Trump winning North Carolina. Five of the seven swing states won by Biden in 2020 flipped from Trump to Biden in the election.
Benzinga previously shared a report predicting the 2024 election cycle to hit a new record of $10.2 billion in ad spending, up 13% from the 2020 election. The report said the seven swing states could see the heaviest ad spending and make up 75% of the total spent on the presidential election.
Stocks to Watch: The increased advertising spending for the 2024 election races could benefit national television companies including Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)(NASDAQ:PARAA), Fox Corp (NASDAQ:FOX)(NASDAQ:FOXA), Comcast Corp (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) owning CBS, FOX, NBC and ABC, respectively.
Outside the national media companies, several publicly traded companies own local media stations that could stand to benefit from national campaigns and local races during the 2024 election.
This list includes Gray Television Inc (NYSE:GTN), NexStar Media Group Inc (NASDAQ:NXST), Tegna Inc (NYSE:TGNA) and E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ:SSP).
The New York Times report also highlighted several companies that could benefit from digital advertisements.
YouTube, which is owned by Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)(NASDAQ:GOOGL), has around $35 million in ads reserved by Future Forward. Roku Inc (NASDAQ:ROKU) and Disney-owned Hulu and Vevo were also named as companies receiving digital ad buys from the PAC.
Read Next: Trump Hits Record Lead In Republican 2024 Election Poll: How DeSantis Exit Could Help Former President
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