Biden's new $1M ad campaign highlights abortion rights to engage Latino men

As Democrats' efforts to appeal to the Latino vote ahead of the November election, President Biden is seeking to ramp up spending as part of a new push at convincing Latino men that abortion rights are an issue that affects them, Reuters reports.

While the plans for the new campaign were not previously reported, Biden's reelection team will spend more than $1 million in Hispanic media for May alone with more to come in the month's ahead.

The television, radio and digital advertising airing in both English and Spanish in competitive "battleground" states features Cesar Carreon, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who now works as a Las Vegas carpenter, mentioning his daughters and attacking Trump as "not tough" for taking away women's "freedom."

Like other key demographics, Latino voters tell pollsters they are especially concerned about the U.S. economy and affordability this year. But Biden's team points to data showing concern among Latino voters and others about a range of issues, including what Biden's team terms "reproductive freedom."

A new study by the Latino Community Foundation showed that a vast majority of Latinos in the state, and in the battleground states of Nevada and Arizona say they are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports abortion rights.

The results of the tri-state survey, which assessed voters' views on various other topics, found that 77% of Latino respondents in California, 74% in Arizona and 82% in Nevada said they were more inclined to vote for "a candidate who holds a pro-choice position and would advocate for making sure abortion access was available nationwide."

During this campaign cycle, Democrats have promised to create a national right to abortion under a second Biden term despite failing to do so when they controlled Congress by slim margins from 2021-2023, according to Reuters.

They have also warned that Trump could sign a national ban on the practice. The former president recently said abortion should be left to states to decide.

Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022, abortion rights have been widely contested across the country.

In Arizona, Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs signed on Thursday a bill to repeal the 1864 law that banned practically all abortions in the state. The signature took place just a day after the state Senate approved the repeal, but the measure may not go into effect until 90 days after the end of the legislative session in June or July.

Abortion will also likely be an important topic ahead of November, as some states have been left to decide their frameworks for reproductive rights through ballots. So far, some states like Maryland, Michigan and Ohio have enshrined abortion, while others, like Florida, will seek to outlaw it.