Kamala Harris launches $60m ad blitz in US presidential race

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris launched a US$50 million (S$67 million) advertising blitz on July 30, capitalising on the momentum of a fledgling campaign against Republican rival Donald Trump with a one-minute spot titled "Fearless."

It was Harris' first big ad buy since consolidating support for the Democratic nomination after

President Joe Biden dropped out of the race

on July 21 and endorsed her.

In addition to garnering the backing of big-money donors, Ms Harris has

sparked newfound energy among groups such as young voters

that Mr Biden had been struggling to win over.

Public opinion polls in the last week have shown Ms Harris, 59,

closing the gap

with 78-year-old Trump, who still leads in some national surveys.

The ads will be rolled out on television as well as streaming and social channels across election battleground states in the weeks before the Democratic National Convention that starts on Aug 19.

The first ad in the campaign begins with images of Ms Harris as a little girl and follows her progression to a prosecutor, attorney-general and US vice-president. "The one thing Kamala Harris has always been: fearless," the ad says.

Since stepping into her new role, Ms Harris has focused on

Trump's felony convictions

in a hush-money trial involving a porn star and the other criminal charges he faces, and portrayed him as responsible for a wave of anti-abortion measures in Republican-led states around the country.

The Harris campaign's ad buy dwarfed

the US$10 million advertising buy announced by Trump's campaign

on July 29, to be launched in six battleground states this week as it tries to counter a surge of voter enthusiasm and donations for Ms Harris.

That was Trump's biggest ad buy since January. REUTERS