RIPON, Wis. — Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is rolling out two new digital ads featuring a former supporter of former President Donald Trump in battleground states on a day the Democratic nominee is gearing up to campaign with Republican former Rep. Liz Cheney in Wisconsin. Wyoming, according to a campaign official who shared the ads exclusively with NBC News.
In the 30-second ads, Matt McCaffery, a lifelong Republican who voted for Trump in the past, explains that he supports Harris because he believes the former president will hurt the middle class and doesn’t take responsibility for past mistakes.
The videos are part of a seven-figure paid media strategy aimed at critical swing voters and the Harris campaign’s larger efforts against Republicans and former Trump supporters. The campaign also hired strategists to target conservative voters, held events to attract Republican voters in battleground states, launched Republicans for Harris to help organize grassroots programs, and offered endorsements from prominent Republicans.
McCaffery, who lives in Pennsylvania, embodies the type of voter the Harris campaign hopes will support him as polls show the race is close.
In an ad called “Matt McCaffery,” he explains why he’s ditching Trump and supporting Harris. “I believe in small government, low taxes, and staying out of my life,” he said. “I am a Republican. I voted for Donald Trump and went to his inauguration in 2016. We tested for four years. It just didn’t work.”
McCaffery attacks wealthy Trump supporters and explains his support for Harris because pictures of him and his running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz, appeared. “All these billionaires are coming out of the woodwork to support Trump,” he said. “They want tax breaks to go behind the middle class. People like Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are what I look for in a president. I think he will do a great job for people like me.”
“Who does this?” in a second ad titled, McCaffery criticizes Trump for not taking responsibility for his actions. “It’s like I can’t go to work and mess something up and then blame my employees. But who does it? Well, who does it? Donald Trump does,” McCaffery said in the ad.
He continues to explain his point. “It’s time to move on,” McCaffery said. “It will be more of the same and the middle class will suffer. buy from me I am a lifelong Republican. I’m still a Republican. “Kamala is trying to help the American people, especially the American middle class.”
The Harris campaign plans to spend $370 million on paid media between Labor Day and Election Day, including $200 million on digital and streaming advertising.
The campaign also recently hired Maria Comella to focus on Republican and independent women voters in the final stretch of the campaign. Comella, who worked for Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, joins Harris campaign national Republican engagement director Austin Weatherford, who previously worked for former Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger.
This week, the Harris campaign will also hold events for Republican voters in battleground states across the country. It comes after Republicans launched a campaign for Harris in August and dozens of prominent Republicans have endorsed Harris, including Cheney and his father, former Vice President Dick Cheney.
The Harris campaign also featured a number of Republican speakers at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, including Kinzinger, former White House national security official Olivia Troye and Trump’s White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham.