Former President Donald Trump has dominated a battle of more than 10 candidates fighting for the GOP nomination in the 2024 presidential election.
A political action committee founded by billionaires is launching ads to take on Trump and encouraging voters to pick a different Republican nominee.
What Happened: In the latest Morning Consult Republican voter poll, Trump saw 58% of support and had a 44-point lead over the next ranking candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
As reported by The News & Observer, the conservative political action committee American for Prosperity Acton has spent $1.7 million in North Carolina and two other states with new advertisements to take on Trump.
The PAC spent $830,000 of the total in North Carolina and the remainder in Arkansas and Tennessee. All three states have primaries that fall on Super Tuesday, set for March 5, 2024. More states could be added to the list of ad buys in the coming months according to the report.
In the ads, Republican voters are encouraged to vote for a candidate other than Trump in the GOP primaries.
“To beat Joe Biden, we have to move on from Donald Trump,” a woman in the ad says according to the report.
The commercial mentions multiple indictments and cases against Trump, which could cause “drama and chaos” for the Republican party.
“I’m so tired of it all. It’s exhausting and none of it helps us beat Joe Biden,” a woman says in the ad.
The PAC said it had concerns Trump can't beat Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election if he secures the GOP nomination.
Trump won the state of North Carolina over Joe Biden in the 2020 election. The state has been won by Republican-nominated presidents in the past three elections.
Related Link: Donald Trump WilL Still Run For President If Convicted And Right Now That's Perfectly Legal
Why It’s Important: Americans for Prosperity Action was launched by billionaires Charles and David Koch. The Pac spent $4 million on ads the night of the first Republican debate, which aired on Fox News, a unit of Fox Corporation FOXFOXA. A second debate set for Sept. 27 on Fox Business could see strong buys from PACs.
Benzinga previously reported the PAC had raised $70 million and was looking to support candidates other than Trump.
The PAC is funded by Koch Industries and by Charles Koch, who is ranked as the 18th richest person in the world by Bloomberg, with a net worth of $64.5 billion. David Koch passed away in 2019.
In Morning Consult weekly polls of hypothetical matchups of Joe Biden versus Donald Trump, the Republican candidate has only beaten Biden in one week.
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