With Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in a tight race, Republicans are heavily investing in attack ads against the vice president. Recent data from AdImpact reveals that between August 23 and August 29, Trump’s campaign and its super PACs allocated 57% of their television ad budget to anti-Harris content, while only 8% was spent on ads targeting Trump.

Harris has largely dismissed Trump’s personal attacks, including his criticisms of her racial identity, as outdated tactics. In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, she referred to these attacks as the “same old tired playbook,” in her interview with CNN’s Dana Bash.

According to a Trump adviser, the former president is “increasingly irked” by Harris’s strategic silence and is now determined to drag her through the mud in an effort to turn voters against her.

“We have a defined candidate—everyone knows everything about the person. There’s lots of new information about Kamala Harris that people just don’t know,” the adviser told The Washington Post.

In contrast, Harris’s campaign has chosen to highlight her as the “underdog candidate” aiming to move beyond past bitterness and divisive battles.

Democratic strategist David Axelrod commented that Harris’s strategy of emphasizing her experience and values, rather than trying to become a historic symbol, is a prudent one.

“She’s not made herself a kind of symbol, she’s not made herself a historic candidate. She’s simply running as someone who has the experience and the values to move the country forward and to deal with the problems that people are most concerned about, and I think that’s a wise strategy,” said Axelrod.

In response, Trump brought back his 2016 campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, despite previous allegations of sexual misconduct. Lewandowski stated that the campaign’s strategy remains unchanged: “Our focus every day is on ensuring the American people know Kamala’s dangerously liberal record and see her for who she is.”

Trump’s campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the goal is to paint Harris as a “phony, radical, San Francisco liberal” who would lead the nation into chaos.

If this approach falls short, Republican strategist Jeff Roe indicated that the backup plan is to label Harris as untrustworthy: “Then you define her as a liar who you can’t trust,” Roe said.