President Trump’s reelection campaign has reserved television air time for next week in New Mexico, a traditionally blue state the campaign has identified as a potential expansion opportunity in 2020.
The media tracking firm Medium Buying is reporting that the Trump campaign has reserved air time in local markets in New Mexico between July 4 and July 10.
The Trump campaign did not respond to a question about the size of the ad buy. According to data provided to The Hill from Ad Analytics, the ad buy is for $110,000, with all of it in the Albuquerque market.
Hillary Clinton won New Mexico by 8 points in 2016. Former President George W. Bush narrowly carried the state in 2004 and is the last GOP presidential candidate to win there.
Trump held a rally in Albuquerque last year and the campaign has said it intends to hire staff in the state. Campaign manager Brad Parscale has said that a separate 2019 rally in El Paso, Texas, attracted a big crowd of Trump supporters from New Mexico.
The only recent public survey of New Mexico is a June poll from the liberal firm Public Policy Polling, which found presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden leading Trump by 14 points.
In addition to New Mexico, the Trump campaign has circled Minnesota, New Hampshire and Nevada as potential pick-up opportunities. The Trump campaign is going back up with ads next week in both Minnesota and Nevada, according to Medium.
Polling is sparse in those states. Recent surveys have found Biden ahead by 7 points in New Hampshire, 5 points in Minnesota and 4 points in Nevada.
However, Trump trails nationally by double digits and the president’s campaign is on defense in several states that he is expected to win.
The Trump campaign is spending money to defend Iowa and Ohio. Both states were considered safely Republican when the cycle began.
The Trump campaign is on the airwaves in Georgia, which has not gone for the Democratic nominee since 1992. The polls are also tight in Texas, although the Trump campaign is not spending there yet.
The Trump campaign and Biden campaign are both on the airwaves in the six core battleground states of Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
