Las Vegas' Miriam Adelson’s super PAC fuels swing-state advertising blitz against Harris

Preserve America, a super political action committee supporting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, has spent $50 million over the past two months on advertising targeting Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, according to Federal Elections Commission data updated Sunday.

The increase in spending by the PAC fulfills a promise by GOP megadonor Dr. Miriam Adelson of Las Vegas, whose advisers said she’d be spending around $100 million to help Trump retake the White House.

Adelson, according to a campaign finance report, is the sole backer of Preserve America in continuing the work of her late husband, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.

The group spent $102 million during the 2020 cycle to support Trump’s failed reelection attempt against President Joe Biden, according to political spending watchdog Open Secrets. Sheldon Adelson died in early 2021.

Over the past year, the Preserve America super PAC has disclosed more than $74 million in spending, but most of it started in August, according to Federal Elections Commission data.

Dave Carney, a Republican strategist leading the PAC, told The New York Times the group would use Adelson’s donations for television and digital advertising in three or four swing states.

Over the past month, the PAC has focused its online advertising on the election’s most consequential swing states, spending nearly $3 million across Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. According to Google’s Ad Transparency Center, just $47,300 was directed at Nevadans, where Adelson’s family also owns the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“In her mind, and in the minds of those who run the political action committee, we are going to do whatever it takes for him to win,” Andy Abboud, a political aide to Adelson, told CNBC in August.

In August, the PAC spent $36 million on advertising. The latest report puts the PAC’s spending this month at more than $20 million.

Trump is clearly smitten with Adelson and desperate for her contributions, even going as far as giving her and her husband the rarely awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018. He doubled down on the praise for Adelson this summer in saying her civilian award was better than the Congressional Medal of Honor, the top military award bestowed by the United States.

Border wars

The ads targeting Harris focus on her role in navigating the U.S. southern border — which has been a large platform position for Trump and Republicans this election cycle.

Within the past month, Preserve America has published several ads to its YouTube channel highlighting the border and calling the vice president “dishonest and dangerous.”

Some of the advertising used a title Republicans gave Harris — “border czar” — which references the task Biden assigned to the vice president to find the root causes of undocumented immigration. One ad claimed hospitals were “overwhelmed” due to immigration along the U.S. border with Mexico.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, illegal border crossings reached a record-breaking high in December 2023.

In June, the administration issued an executive order that barred migrants who crossed illegally from seeking asylum. In its July report, U.S. Customs and Border Protections reported that border encounters had fallen to the lowest level since September 2020, during Trump’s time in office.

Congress earlier this year came close to passing further immigration restrictions in a bipartisan package worked out by U.S. senators, but Trump encouraged House Republicans to kill the deal. On the debate stage, Harris said the Republican nominee would rather “run on a problem instead of fixing a problem.”

That night, Trump also talked about a “migrant crime” wave, something the Brennan Center for Justice calls a myth. Repeatedly, studies have shown immigrants are less likely than U.S.-born people to commit crimes.

Support for Israel

Outside of her financial support, Adelson has been making appearances with Trump throughout the campaign cycle.

At an event on antisemitism Thursday in Washington, Adelson spoke about her Jewish faith, support for her native Israel and ending antisemitism in the U.S. She has previously said that Trump will “save the Jewish people” if he is elected.

“As the brave students in the audience know, (antisemitism) has turned supposed elite universities into propaganda factories where Jews are not welcome,” Adelson said. “It also threatens to undermine the U.S. alliance … when the Jewish state is in a fight for its life.”

Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that killed more than 1,200 people in Israel, the country has responded by bombarding the Gaza Strip.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 40,000 people, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, and at least 60% of Gazan homes have been destroyed since the war started.

At the same event where Adelson spoke, Trump said Israel would suffer “total annihilation” if his opponent was elected.

He also called Jewish Harris supporters “fools” who “should have (their) head examined.”

“In my opinion, the Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss if I’m at 40% (support among Jewish Americans),” Trump said Thursday. “The Democrats are bad for Israel, very bad. They’ll never change.”

Harris has pledged consistent support for Israel and recognized its role as an American ally, including during her speech accepting her presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention in August.

During that speech, she called for a ceasefire and Palestinian self-determination.

“Let me be clear: I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself,” she said on the DNC stage in Chicago.