LAKE MARY, Fla. (AP) – The tour bus features a giant photo of a waving, smiling Donald Trump, but the person who steps off it is actor Jon Voight. He’s trailed by conservative radio stars and strategists for a super political action committee.
Great America PAC is rolling through battleground states, opening offices and registering voters. In a presidential race where the Republican candidate has paid little attention to the ground game, this outside group has decided the best way to support him is to take such matters into its own hands.
“We look at it as, how do we fix the missing pieces of the campaign?” said Ed Rollins, lead strategist for Great America.
The group is using a different playbook – both in how it raises and spends money – than the usual super PAC. It has struggled to land major donors, but has toiled along since January, making it one of the most senior and active outside groups in the Trump orbit.
Unlike candidates, super PACs can accept unlimited amounts of money from donors, so they typically focus on getting the biggest checks possible. Then they often spend most of their money on TV ads, one of the most expensive parts of any race and the easiest way to reach millions of voters. Great America sees another way.