In a gubernatorial campaign advertisement, Nevada’s candidate Michele Ann Fiore says that she was among the first officials chosen by election to support Donald Trump for president six years ago. In the ad, Fiore even holds a gun as she says it with a guitar riff playing as background music. Fiore claims that she was also attacked for the move, which affirms how committed she is to the erstwhile president. She expects that Trump would watch the advertisement.
Besides buying advertisements in Nevada’s media markets, Fiore is contributing to campaign funding to broadcast her one-minute ad in Florida, where Trump spends winters. In late November 2021, Fiore’s campaign used $6,270 in spending to air 62 TV ads on the channel Fox News. Since leaving the role, the former US president has been spending his time at his residence, Bedminster golf club, and Florida. He spent a large part of the 2021 summer in Bedminster.
When Fiore’s advertisements aired in the 2021 Thanksgiving holiday, Trump and his relatives were at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Interest groups and candidates have long utilized targeted cable TV spots to reach out to the TV-obsessed Trump. They often lined up advertisements in Florida and Washington to grab Trump’s attention as he was vacationing or occupying the White House. Fiore’s action not only reflects the post-presidential impact of Trump on the US Republican Party but also underscores how Republicans in primary election battles across the nation see his endorsement. Republicans consider it a potentially game-changing move.
Since he left his presidential role, many people in Florida have been vying for Trump’s attention. For instance, a billboard along the boulevard that connects Palm Beach International Airport (PBIA) to the said resort in Florida tends to carry messages from Trump’s detractors and supporters.
At the golf club, he has held many events, including fundraisers, for the GOP members running for governor, US Senate-related positions and other positions. The members include South Dakota’s Governor Kristi Noem, Ron DeSantis for Florida’s Governor, and Noem’s erstwhile press secretary Sarah Sanders. For your information, Sanders is in the gubernatorial race in Arkansas. The location usually ensures a solid showing because of its loyal and paid members as well as Trump attending even the events that he does not host.
Trump has welcomed a group of candidates who seek his support, which includes Idaho’s Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin. In Idaho, McGeachin competes against incumbent GOP Governor Brad Little. In 2021, Trump endorsed her a few days after she went to see him at the Mar-a-Lago resort.
Las Vegas councilor Fiore is among the many candidates who run for Nevada’s governor position. Since Trump’s narrow loss in the 2020 US Presidential Election, Nevada has been a battleground state.
Fiore was elected to the statehouse nine years ago. There, she not only advocated for gun rights but also introduced a proposal that tried to dramatically curb federal clout to manage Nevada’s public land and water but to no avail. Fiore’s supported rancher Cliven Bundy’s family in armed altercations between the so-called citizen militia group and law enforcement. It thrust Fiore into the national spotlight many years ago.
Fiore runs on a Republican platform that involves opposition to COVID-19 ordinances, reversing Nevada’s choice to deliver every active voter’s mail-in ballot, and support for US law enforcement action against the so-called domestic terrorists.
US Senator Dean Heller, Reno attorney Joey Gilbert, and Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo are among the other candidates who compete in the 2022 GOP primary. For your information, attorney Gilbert was present around the Capitol building during the 2021 insurrection there. The candidate who wins the primary will challenge Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak of Nevada.
Trump’s representatives did not reply to questions on whether the erstwhile president had watched Fiore’s spot or planned on endorsing her in the gubernatorial race.
The campaign of Fiore spent over $100,000 just to broadcast advertisements in Reno, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. Fiore’s campaign representative Rory McShane stated that targeting Florida’s airwaves besides Nevada is all about reminding Trump of Fiore’s support for him for a long time. As for McShane, while several candidates seek Trump’s endorsements, many of them were even holding rallies against the erstwhile president some years ago. McShane added that it is worth reminding Trump’s team that Fiore is still the lone America First hopeful in the gubernatorial race.
Heller, who also seeks Trump’s endorsement, also opposed the erstwhile president over attempts to have the Obamacare Act repealed five years ago. However, Heller and Trump reconciled and then campaigned in the 2018 senatorial election, where then-US Representative Jacky Rosen beat Heller.
Since 2020, the lone candidate competing for state office beyond Florida to buy advertisements from Comcast is Fiore. For your information, Comcast is a cable service provider from Florida.
Vanderbilt University’s John Sides stated that assuming that their objective is to catch Trump’s attention, the advertisements are aimed at one voter versus millions of constituents. Political scientist Sides has written about how TV advertising affects political campaigns.
As per Sides, buying advertisements in a US media market miles away would be worthwhile if it is possible to gain the president’s attention or support. When making the aforementioned calculation, Sides refers to the said situation as a political investment for the endorsement of an erstwhile president.