VoteVets plans a $45 million boost to unseat Biden and the Democrats
VoteVets, the liberal political action committee known for supporting veterans running for office, will spend $45 million to support President Biden and the Democratic candidates for House and Senate, said Jon Soltz, co-founder and president of the group .
VoteVets is the latest liberal organization to announce its 2024 plans to support Mr. Biden and other Democratic candidates. Future Forward, the main Democratic super PAC backing Biden's bid, has planned a $250 million ad blitz. Last month, liberal activist group MoveOn unveiled its $32 million program.
The centerpiece of VoteVets' efforts is a $15 million project aimed at active-duty veterans and military families in presidential battleground states.
The man Biden defeated in 2020 and will likely face in a rematch this fall, former President Donald J. Trump, slipped among the veterans during his reelection campaign. In 2020, Mr. Trump performed a net 14 points worse among veterans and military families than he did in the 2016 election against Hillary Clinton, according to a Pew Research survey published in 2021. Mr. Trump still carried veterans, but his erosion of support followed a series of evidence that he had been disrespectful to military officials and families.
“While all these other groups are focused on grassroots turnout, in some of these core groups, someone needs to be able to focus on reducing losses,” Mr. Soltz said in an interview. “Elections are won not just by running up the score, but also by cutting losses, and Biden's success came in large part from cutting losses in this community.”
VoteVets, which Mr. Soltz founded in 2006 to oppose the war in Iraq, has become one of the Democratic Party's top benefactors. Mr. Soltz remained a leading voice for ending the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.
Mr. Soltz acknowledged that Mr. Biden's handling of the Afghan withdrawal “has not tested well,” but said Mr. Trump's support for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and his public battles with military leaders order will come. in VoteVets ads.
“All of this has political consequences,” Mr. Soltz said. “There is no other way to explain the disrespect toward Gold Star families and the erratic behavior and attacks on our law enforcement at the Capitol – these are values.”
In the 2022 midterm elections only four other super PACs surpassed the $24.7 million VoteVets spent on Democratic candidates: the House and Senate's top super PACs, the League of Conservation Voters and EMILY's List, which backs Democratic women who support abortion rights.
According to VoteVets, he had $11 million in cash at the end of 2023 its submission to the Federal Election Commission.
The group will spend money to support incumbent Senate Democrats in Montana, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Ohio, along with Reps. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, who are seeking a promotion to the Senate. VoteVets will also endorse Rep. Andy Kim of New Jersey, who is in a hard-fought primary campaign to succeed embattled and indicted Sen. Robert Menendez.
VoteVets will also back Democratic House candidates who are veterans, have national security backgrounds or are in the most competitive districts, Mr. Soltz said.
Mr. Soltz said VoteVets planned to conduct focus group research and polls among its network of families of veterans and active-duty service members. It will also run targeted mail and digital advertising campaigns, as well as TV and radio ads targeting rural markets with higher concentrations of veterans.
To that end, VoteVets has already begun its campaign to amplify some of Trump's most infamous statements about the military. Last month, the group spent $100,000 an advertisement which took place in Pennsylvania during an NFL playoff game, in which Gold Star parents condemned Mr. Trump for calling Americans who died in wars overseas “suckers” and “losers.”
Representative Brian Mast of Florida, a surrogate for the Trump campaign, called the VoteVets ad “As despicable as it is absurd.”