NEW YORK _ The pro-Clinton super PAC Priorities USA is suspending TV advertising in Virginia, Colorado and Pennsylvania until at least the end of September, according to a person familiar with the group's plans.
After scheduling airtime in Colorado and Pennsylvania, the super PAC has decided to go off the air in Colorado and Pennsylvania until at least Sept. 20, the person said. In addition, while Priorities had already suspended ads in Virginia, commercials that were originally set to resume in the state on Sept. 6 will now be pushed back until at least the 20th as well.
On Bloomberg TV's "With All Due Respect" on Monday, chief strategist Guy Cecil nodded to the spending decision, saying money previously reserved for ads in traditional battlegrounds would be moving "to other states but also into other activities."
"Right now, we are going to look at other opportunities for us to expand the map and potentially reach out to some new voters as well through voter registration and on-the-ground efforts in some of our key states," Cecil confirmed on the show.
The Clinton campaign itself, which is building strong polling leads in those three states and other battlegrounds, has also decided to hit pause on an ad buy in Virginia and pull ads from Colorado. The campaign recently reserved airtime for ads to run in Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania through Labor Day, but those buys are subject to change.
Campaigns and super PACs are not allowed to coordinate with one another, according to Federal Election Commission rules.
As Donald Trump falls behind Hillary Clinton in polls across the nation, Cecil and his team see an opportunity to not only win this election, but also to increase the probability of Democratic victories in future cycles by registering voters.
"We think it's actually really critical to use this opportunity to expand our party," Cecil said.
