Swift Boat mastermind to launch massive super PAC to boost Trump

Swift Boat mastermind to launch massive super PAC to boost Trump

The late effort, expected to include some of the party's biggest givers, comes as Trump has been overwhelmed by Joe Biden on TV.

By ALEX ISENSTADT
08/31/2020 04:30 AM EDT

Senior Republicans are launching a massive new super PAC this week to bolster Donald Trump’s reelection in the final stretch of the campaign — a move that comes as the president has been pummeled by Joe Biden on TV.

The new organization, Preserve America, is poised to begin a $30 million advertising blitz, an amount that's likely to escalate in the weeks to come, two people familiar with the effort told POLITICO. The super PAC is expected to draw the support of a range of GOP megadonors, including Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus.

Preserve America will be overseen by Chris LaCivita, a veteran Republican strategist who orchestrated the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth takedown of John Kerry in the 2004 presidential race.

The move comes as Republicans express mounting concern over the drubbing Trump has been taking on TV. The president in August went dark in several battleground states and in Wisconsin was outspent more than eight to one, according to the media tracking firm Advertising Analytics. In Florida, Trump was outpaced by Biden more than three to one.

-snip-