A top liberal grassroots group will spend $45 million to energize younger voters for Biden

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A top progressive grassroots advocacy group that takes the lead in energizing youth voter turnout says it will spend at least $45 million to target younger voters in key general election battleground states to support former Vice President Joe Biden’s bid for the White House.

The organization, NextGen America, also announced on Wednesday that it will shell out $11 million to start running digital ads starting next month in six key battlegrounds that contrast the presumptive Democratic nominee with President Trump. The news came as the group formally endorsed Biden’s Democratic presidential campaign.

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The group's executive director Ben Wessel emphasized that "this election is about young Americans and our future, and the choice for us is clear: Joe Biden is the best candidate for president.”

NextGen was created six years ago by former hedge fund manager turned environmental and progressive activist Tom Steyer, who continues to fund the organization. The group helped fuel the youth vote in the 2018 election, which assisted the Democrats as they won back control of the House of Representatives.

Steyer – a billionaire who was one of the ringleaders in the push to impeach Trump through his "Need to Impeach" movement – unsuccessfully ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. He endorsed Biden in early April, five weeks after suspending his bid at the end of February.

The group, which touts that it currently has more than 150 staffers in 11 battleground states, says that will start running two digital ads in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin starting in June.

“Our generation deserves better and Joe Biden can help us get there. His plan guarantees free pubic college tuition for millions and expands affordable health care. He actually listened to us on climate change, and now has a climate plan that goes further than any past president,” the narrator in one of the spots says. “We refuse to let Trump pick another Supreme Court justice, eliminating abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.”

The ad concludes by asking younger voters to “pledge to vote Biden.”

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Younger voters were a challenging demographic for the former vice president during the Democratic primaries. Biden’s campaign on Tuesday launched new grassroots program – called League 46 – which focuses on mobilizing young voters.

The most recent national polls in the general election matchup between Biden and Trump indicate the Democratic challenger with a double-digit lead over the GOP incumbent in the White House among younger voters.

But the Trump campaign = spotlighting the president's record on the economy and his ability to restart the economy amid the coronavirus crisis - said younger voters would be attracted to Trump.

Trump campaign deputy press secretary Ken Farnaso told Fox News that "American's youth and young professionals want their shot at the American dream and President Trump is the leader that's shown it can happen for every American."