Clinton rolls out new ad campaign in 7 states

A scene from the new Hillary Clinton ad. (Screenshot: YouTube)
A scene from the new Hillary Clinton ad. (Screenshot: YouTube)

Hillary Clinton’s campaign is launching a new ad on Friday emphasizing the Democratic nominee’s concern for children and families in seven battleground states.

In the 30-second spot, Clinton is seen hugging and chatting with children, as a narrator says the former secretary of state “gets” the concerns of American families. “Standing up for families and children has been her life’s work,” the narrator says, adding that Clinton supports affordable childcare, paid time off for parents, and “debt-free” college.

“The ad provides a snapshot of Clinton’s agenda for a new economic future for working families, including Latino families,” a Clinton aide said.

The Clinton campaign’s director of coalitions press, Xochitl Hinojosa, told Yahoo News they are connecting with Latino voters through both Spanish commercials and English ads, such as this one. According to data released earlier this year by the Pew Research Center, the number of Spanish speaking Latinos in the U.S. is declining while a growing number of American Latinos speak only English at home.

“The campaign will continue to reach voters where they are, and that is why we will continue to run ads in Spanish, but also reach Latino voters through advertisements in English like this one in battleground states to ensure we’re speaking directly to all Latino households about how Hillary Clinton will fight for them,” Hinojosa said.

Clinton has pulled ahead of Donald Trump in the polls over the past few weeks and has taken a daunting lead in key swing states like Virginia. But about 54 percent of likely voters nevertheless have an unfavorable impression of Clinton, according to a RealClearPolitics average of recent polls. Ads that stress her commitment to kids and families could boost those numbers and fight back against the frequent public assertions that she is untrustworthy.

The Clinton campaign has used children as a theme of its ads before. During the Nevada primary, the campaign released an ad showing Clinton comforting a 10-year-old girl who was afraid her parents would get deported. More recently, the campaign released a tough commercial called “Role Models,” which showed young kids supposedly watching Trump make crude and provocative remarks on a TV screen. “Our children are watching,” the ad informed viewers of the presidential race.

The Clinton campaign has spent $61 million on TV ads over the past two months, while Trump’s camp spent zero ad dollars over the same period. Trump’s campaign recently said it would begin to roll out television spots.

The new Clinton ad debuting Friday will appear in Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Watch it below: