Human Rights Campaign to spend $15 million to support Joe Biden’s reelection campaign in key swing states
The Human Rights Campaign announced Monday the launch of a $15 million public education and engagement drive to mobilize a record-high 75 million identified “equality voters” ahead of the November elections.
The mobilization, titled “We Show Up: Equality Wins,” hopes to combat anti-trans attacks and secure significant electoral victories among Democrats, including the re-election of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. HRC plans to reach voters through field programs, events, and advertising buys in six key battleground states: Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Nevada.
According to HRC, the number of identified equality voters has grown from 62 million in 2022 to 75 million this year. Equality voters are described as a geographically diverse, multiracial, and multigenerational coalition united by advancing LGBTQ+ equality.
“Make no mistake – LGBTQ+ voters and our allies are going to make the difference in the 2024 elections. With everything at stake, we have no other choice,” HRC president Kelley Robinson said in a press release. “Trump and his MAGA allies are promising a hate-filled agenda that hurts everyone who doesn’t look and live like them. They think they can bully and scare us and take away our fundamental freedoms. But the LGBTQ+ community has won these hard fights before – and we refuse to go back.”
According to HRC, the organization will also focus efforts in California, Texas, New York, and Delaware to support LGBTQ+ congressional candidates. The organization says that HRC has had year-round staff in these states since 2017 and will bring on additional staff to organize for the upcoming election.
A recent survey by opinion research firm GQR found that 80 percent of equality voters are highly motivated to vote, driven more by issues and causes than partisan politics. The survey also found that 22 percent of equality voters would consider voting for a third-party candidate if the election were held today. However, according to HRC, these voters are unlikely to support former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, with half indicating they would support Biden if they understood their vote could help elect Trump.
“This is a big deal,” Robinson told Mika Brzezinski on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Monday morning. “There’s a lot of fear. There’s a lot happening in the world, but this is something that people can be excited about.”