Amid the explosion of cash spent on TV ads in the race for U.S. Sen. David Perdue’s seat, an outside group promoting the Republican’s re-election campaign is set to spend $5 million on a different route to reach voters.
The Georgia Action Fund’s new venture aims to pummel undecided voters who don’t receive political news from traditional media sources with digital ads and online videos boosting Perdue’s race against Democrat Jon Ossoff.
The PAC’s director, former Perdue strategist Derrick Dickey, said the goal was to strategically target up-in-the-air voters so that the campaign and other outside groups can keep a focus on TV ads and get-out-the-vote efforts.
“The Georgia market has millions of dollars being dumped into it right now by outside forces,” said Dickey. “But more people are using streaming services than ever, and this is the best the way to get to them.”
An example of the digital efforts is an ominous 15-second ad that asserts Ossoff “supports defunding the police while cities burn” and plays a clip of him at a Democratic forum urging an electoral rout of the GOP this November. Ossoff has repeatedly said he doesn’t back defunding the police.
The rivals campaigns and their allies have spent or reserved more than $110 million trading TV and radio spots in the election, which could decide control of the U.S. Senate. Libertarian Shane Hazel is also in the race.
Polls show the race deadlocked and few undecided voters at play. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution survey in September pegged Perdue and Ossoff within the margin of error – and that just 5% of voters still hadn’t picked sides.
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