A group with close ties to the conservative Club for Growth is jumping headfirst into the campaign cycle this week, launching a $3.6 million ad campaign as part of its efforts to block former President Donald Trump from winning the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.
The Win it Back PAC will air its first media ad campaign on Tuesday and is scheduled to run the video through the end of the month. The 60-second ad, simply titled “John,” features a former Trump supporter expressing his concern over the former president’s candidacy in 2024 — acknowledging that Trump may not be the best candidate for Republicans to win back the White House.
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“I love Donald Trump. I love what he did. Once he got in office, I thought it was a breath of fresh air,” the voter said. “I’m not sure he can focus on moving the country forward. The election is really important because we’re heading in the wrong direction. We definitely need someone who can freaking win. I think he’d probably lose that bet.”
The ad is set to run in Greenville, South Carolina, as well as Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and Sioux City in Iowa.
The ad campaign seeks to take a softer tone that highlights Trump’s weaknesses while not directly attacking the former president directly, a spokesperson with the PAC told the Washington Examiner. Rather, the group noted it would work to advance a presidential candidate who can win the general election while maintaining the “legacy that Trump has built.”
The group also noted it would not actively work against Trump-endorsed candidates. Rather, it would work to advance a presidential candidate.
The first ad blitz comes just days after the Win it Back PAC filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission last week with the goal to target Trump during the primary cycle and boost other GOP contenders. The super PAC is independent of the influential Club for Growth PAC, but the groups share several staff members.
The filing lists the PAC’s designated agent as David McIntosh, the Club for Growth’s president, who came out against Trump earlier this year. The filing also lists Adam Rozansky as the PAC’s treasurer, serving in the same role he does for the Club for Growth.
The new political action committee is the club’s latest attack against Trump as he seeks a return to the Oval Office next year. The organization snubbed the former president earlier this year when it declined to invite Trump to its annual donor retreat in Palm Beach despite hosting a slew of other GOP presidential contenders.
The Club for Growth also began expanding its reach to host campaign events and conduct polling for other GOP candidates late last year, hinting at a growing desire within the Republican Party to scope out other options. The organization emerged as one of the former president’s staunchest allies during his time in the White House despite the group aggressively opposing his candidacy in 2016.
Trump attacked the club earlier this year after it came out in opposition to some of the former president’s hand-picked candidates in the midterm elections. At one point, the former president even referred to the group as “The Club For NO Growth.”
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Trump’s campaign team brushed off the threat of Win it Back, suggesting the effort has no teeth in overcoming his front-runner status.
“Another swampy DC insider group using shady money to hurt America. Instead of bowing down and kowtowing to their CCP masters, Club for China Growth should be helping the people of Iowa and South Carolina fight against the Biden Regime who has put China First,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told the Washington Examiner.