Human Rights Campaign launching ad blitz for Harris, other Democrats

Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and its Equality Votes political action committee are launching a multimillion-dollar digital ad blitz aimed at reaching "equality voters" for the Harris-Walz ticket in key battleground states, the group announced Wednesday.

“This election is going to come down to the smallest of margins, but the difference between an equality champion like Kamala Harris in the White House or another reign of terror from Donald Trump couldn’t be greater," Guy Cecil, the HRC Equality Votes political action committee chief strategist, said.

HRC and its political action committee released $2 million worth of ads, with the political action committee specifically launching a seven-figure digital ad campaign aimed at reaching more than 1.5 million voters in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to a release from the group.

One of those ads, titled "Not Going Back," presents a timeline of Harris's fight for LGBTQ+ rights and warns that a Trump administration would undo those gains. The other ad, "Shadows," accuses Trump of inviting "hate out of the shadows and into our communities."

Both ads invoke Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for the next Republican administration. Trump has sought to distance himself from the document, saying he had "nothing to do with it." But many of the initiative's authors are Trump allies or former appointees, and Democrats have used the document as a key attack line against the former president and other Republicans.

HRC defines the "equality voters" it aims to reach as "LGBTQ+ voters and allies – who prioritize LGBTQ+ inclusive policies when making decisions at the ballot box," and says its model shows there are 75 million such people.

The political action committee will also be showing ads encouraging voters to maintain a "pro-equality majority" in the Senate by voting for Democratic Reps. Ruben Gallego in Arizona and Elissa Slotkin in Michigan, and Sens. Bob Casey in Pennsylvania and Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin.

Vice President Harris holds less than a one-point lead over Trump in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, while Trump is ahead of Harris by less than one point in Arizona, according to polling from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ.

Meanwhile, the HRC separately launched two ads titled "Vote Your Way" and "Walk of Shame," which encourage voters to head to the polls and was part of a six-figure ad buy.

Polling averages from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ currently show Harris with a 3-point lead over Trump, 49.8 percent to 46.8 percent.