Dem
53
Ties
3
GOP
44
Yesterday, we had a couple of items speaking to the sense of desperation currently being manifest by one Donald John Trump. Still to go: two items about candidates who appear to be grasping at straws. For this one, we want to run down some of the eyebrow-raising commercials that have been released in the last month or so. Some of them are in pretty heavy rotation on TV, others were clearly designed for the social media crowd:
"Donald Who?" (see the ad here)
Who's Running It?: John Sununu (R), candidate for the open U.S. Senate seat in New Hampshire.
The Executive Summary: This is surely the least despicable ad we'll include this item, but we had to mention it because it's really something. The main point of the ad is that Sununu and Trump are completely unconnected to each other. "The way Chris Pappas tells it," the candidate says," I'm President Trump's long-lost son. I've never even met the man."
The Response: We can find no comment from Rep. Chris Pappas (D) about the ad. And Trump apparently hasn't seen it, because if he had, he would have blown his stack.
Our Thoughts: Trumpism doesn't play so well in New Hampshire, it would seem. Especially given that the tariffs on Canada have hit those states that border Canada especially hard.
"Ohio Kids Deserve Better than Sherrod Brown" (see the ad here)
Who's Running It?: The Senate Leadership Fund, which is the main PAC for Senate Republicans.
The Executive Summary: The ad is one of several that feature trans woman Soren Aldaco. In it, she asserts that Sherrod Brown supports forced gender reassignment, and claims she was surgically reassigned against her will at the age of 15 when a doctor decided she was trans.
The Response: As it turns out, Aldaco was not forcibly reassigned at the age of 15. In fact, she voluntarily sought surgery at the age of 19 (in other words, above the age of consent). And the procedure did not take place in Ohio, it took place in Texas.
Our Thoughts: Transphobia is the bread and butter of Republican politics in 2026, apparently having surpassed even anti-immigrant stuff. So, if you keep reading, brace yourself for several more commercials along these lines.
"The Anointed One" (see the ad here)
Who's Running It?: Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI)
The Executive Summary: Van Orden has produced a number of AI-generated ads, all under the title "The Anointed One," in which his opponent Rebecca Cooke (D) says wildly impolitic things. This one features Cooke and Joe Biden, with Cooke saying: "[I want] to make sure we take advantage of as much corruption as possible and give every illegal alien free healthcare."
The Response: Cooke has sent Van Orden a cease-and-desist letter, telling him to stop running the various deepfake ads. If he does not, she is prepared to sue, arguing that the ads are defamatory and also infringe on her right of publicity under Wisconsin law.
Our Thoughts: AI is another theme that will be present a lot in this item. This particular AI ad is particularly non-credible; obviously, a politician would not say something like that. Further, she doesn't look real, and when "Joe Biden" (briefly) speaks, he doesn't sound anything like Joe Biden. In fact, he doesn't sound like a man at all. Van Orden must think his supporters are stupid. If he loses this election, it will be a happy day for many people, as he's kind of the Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) of the House—pretty much everyone hates him.
"Dancing Queen" (see the ad here)
Who's Running It?: Jennifer Balkcom (R), candidate for the open seat representing NC-11.
The Executive Summary: The commercial shows Democratic candidate Jamie Ager hosting a barn dance with a lot of trans flags on the wall, and a bunch of drag queens in attendance. Because, as we all know, "drag queen" and "trans person" are the same thing. Eventually, Ager himself dances with one of the drag queen, while a boy of about 10 looks on and is obviously traumatized. The tagline is: "Jamie Ager talks like you and me, but he's dancing with they/them."
The Response: The Ager campaign has slammed the ad as "100% fake AI-generated lies." Meanwhile, a couple of the drag queens featured are threatening to sue, since their likenesses and names were used without their consent. Also, the song "Dancing Queen" plays in the background of the spot. We tend to suspect ABBA did not sign off on that, and they are known for vigorously defending their intellectual property.
Our Thoughts: And here we have an ad that is both transphobic and also AI (and it won't be the only one in this item). Two for the price of one! If Balkcom wins, she will be a prime candidate to take over for the (presumably) departing Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) as the dumbest person in Congress. Seriously, take a look at this interview she gave a couple of weeks ago. Between the deer-in-the-headlights expression and the lack of familiarity with any policy issue, she makes Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) look like Henry Kissinger. Consider reading some of the comments, like, "This is why you don't eat lead paint."
And this was a particularly dumb deepfake. Beyond the fact that a major-party candidate, particularly in the South, is hardly likely to participate in, and be filmed at, an event like this, it's easy to find the actual ad that was used as the basis for the AI deepfake. It's called "Barn Dance," and shows the candidate participating in a standard, drag-queen-and-trans-flag-free barn dance, during which Ager dances with his wife. Argh! These damned heterosexuals, always rubbing our noses in their lifestyle choices.
"My Self Blame" (see the ad here)
Who's Running It?: Stacy Garrity, Republican candidate for governor in Pennsylvania
The Executive Summary: Another AI ad, one in which a particularly shifty-looking Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) turns to the camera repeatedly, and admits openly to all manner of offenses, like sexual harassment, helping cover up Jeffrey Epstein's crimes, and taking bribes. That includes $5 million from the builders of AI data centers, which are portrayed as indisputably evil (in fact, they apparently produce force lightning, like the Emperor in Star Wars).
The Response: Voters in Pennsylvania, of all political stripes, are unhappy about this and other AI-generated ads, and there's much talk about banning them.
Our Thoughts: We're about to get to another ad that has been slammed as antisemitic. We actually think this one is even more so. Not only is the Jewish Shapiro shown regularly in a pose that bears a striking resemblance to the "Happy Merchant," but he's also involved in all sorts of conniving, mostly so he can pocket a bunch of money, and he's aided by evil magick. All of these are antisemitic tropes.
Meanwhile, nobody with the Garrity campaign seems to have noticed the incongruity of running what is essentially an anti-AI ad, created by AI. The force is not strong with these people.
"Israel's Wars" (see the ad here)
Who's Running It?: Rebellion PAC, which is led by Cenk Uygur
The Executive Summary: A couple, ostensibly husband and wife, are buying groceries. The wife tells the husband to put a bunch of stuff back, because the money is going to be needed to pay taxes, which in turn will be sent to Israel to pay for the various wars there (plus healthcare). Just in case anyone missed the message. Uygur added "[I]f you want Israel to keep robbing America, you're going to hate this ad," when he posted it to ex-Twitter.
The Response: This is the other antisemitic ad we promised was coming; the ad has been roundly derided as such. The campaign of Abdul El-Sayed (D), running for the open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan, has disavowed the spot.
Our Thoughts Uygur is probably the most vile left-winger in the United States. He has no interest in solving any problem, he's only interested in virtue-signaling, concern trolling and rabble rousing, so as to drive viewers/readers to his various media projects. Put another way, he's a left-wing version of Candace Owens or Nick Fuentes. And even if this was really and truly an effort to help the campaign of El-Sayed, it is political malpractice. The candidate is not hurting with people who are critical of Israel. On the other hand, he's got real problems with Jewish Democrats. Should El-Sayed lose by a narrow margin, it would not be wrong to suspect this ad was the tipping point.
"Full of Hate" (see the ad here)
Who's Running It?: America Next, the PAC run by... former Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal
The Executive Summary: The ad starts with a clip of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) saying, "In this country, if you are not Black, you benefit from a system of white supremacy." It follows with clips of Rep. Ilhan Omar (DFL-MN) and The View co-host Sunny Hostin saying similar things. Then an AI-generated woman, hidden in shadows, tells the camera that she cannot show her face because she is white and it is too dangerous. It concludes with the tagline: "Liberals are the new racists."
The Response: The ad has been widely condemned, with more than a few folks describing it as "the most racist ad of 2026." All three of the clips of brown women speaking, by the way, are taken aggressively out of context.
Our Thoughts: First, Bobby Jindal is still a thing? Does he really think he still has a future in Republican politics, even WITH this kind of pandering? The power of positive delusion, we suppose.
That said, of all the ads we list here, this one is probably the most efficacious, since it's running mostly on right-wing "news" channels, and a lot of older, white people who watch those channels eat this "the brown people are the REAL racists" stuff up. It's not going to sway any elections, since anyone who sees this commercial and says "See? She gets it!" is already voting Republican. But it's not likely to cost any candidates votes.
"Moms" (see the ad here)
Who's Running It?: Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA), running for reelection in the R+2 IA-03.
The Executive Summary: A bunch of "moms," five of them white, one of them Black (DEI?), make all the usual claims about Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott having radical views on trans issues, lamenting the harm she would do to children. "When it comes to our kids," says a mom identified as 'Shellie,' "Sarah is just plain dangerous."
The Response: Garriott does not appear to have commented on the ad, but The Washington Post looked into it. It turns out someone is indeed endangering kids. That would be 'Shellie,' who is Dallas Center city councilwoman Shellie Flockhart, and who was prosecuted in 2017 for child endangerment after being caught driving drunk with her kids in the car.
Our Thoughts: It's remarkable that the Nunn campaign did not vet their "moms"; Flockhart's history is all over social media, and even a cursory search would have uncovered her history. She says she used to have a problem, but all is well now that she has found Jesus. Nothing more consistent with his ministry than someone who is clearly with sin making sure to cast a few stones.
"The King James Talarico Bible" (see the ad here)
Who's Running It?: Ken Paxton (R), who seeks the open U.S. Senate seat in Texas
The Executive Summary: Yet another AI ad, one that features Talarico defacing a Bible with crayons, including adding his last name in between "King James" and "Bible." and adding an eleventh commandment "Let there be six genders." The faux Talarico also turns to the camera and says a bunch of impolitic things, like admitting he's always thought of himself as a Christian who hates Christianicy.
The Response: Talarico has actually recorded an ad in which he runs down the claims made in the fake ad, and points out that they're all lies. He ends the spot with a pretty darn good zinger: "I don't have to use AI because the truth about Ken Paxton is bad enough." Boom!
Our Thoughts: Paxton is so ridiculously over-the-top, both with his commercials and his rhetoric, we have a hard time believing anyone takes him seriously anymore. People will vote Republican because they like (R) candidates, or because they like something Paxton has done in his career. We don't believe a single person will say, "Whaaaaaaat? I was going to vote Talarico/was going to skip the election, but then I found out that Talarico is a trans-loving Bible defacer who admits he hates Christianity. Gonna have to vote Paxton now."
We have a couple of conclusions here, The first is that using AI to make your opponents say and do things they never said or did is abusive. There will have to be some laws passed that draw a line between the First Amendment right to criticize and satirize, and an individual's right to control their own likeness and to not be defamed.
Second, to return to where this item began, we think that most or all of these ads reek of desperation. That is not a good look. And while the messaging might make some voters angry, and motivate them to get to the polls, there is an excellent chance that it will drive even more voters away, either because they don't like dirty pool, or because they feel their intelligence has been insulted by such obviously absurd claims. Maybe those voters just withhold their vote from a candidate who runs an obnoxious, offensive and/or desperate ad. Maybe they actually flip to the other side.
The most obviously offensive ad of the cycle may be instructive here. There has been a whole lot of blowback since Vivek Ramaswamy unleashed that reprehensible spot with Amy Acton's (D) pedophile-enabling mother. And the blowback has produced a couple of interesting responses. First, the largest newspaper in Ohio is The Cleveland Plain Dealer. And its policy is that it does not endorse candidates for political office. Or, more accurately, that was its policy. On Sunday, the eddi board ran an editorial headlined: "We cannot remain silent: Amy Acton for governor." The board observes that, "There are moments when a community must decide what it stands for, when its institutions have a duty to speak and when silence itself becomes a statement. Ohio has reached such a moment."
The other development is that Ramaswamy has recently been claiming, in interviews, that this is all Acton's fault because she insulted his mother first. He has been unable to explain when or how, which means he certainly can't explain how such an attack—even if it did happen—justifies weaponizing the sexual abuse of a child. But the obvious subtext here is that even the most obnoxious gubernatorial candidate in the land (sorry, Sen. Tuberville) knows he blew it, and is trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. We do not imagine that any of the ads above will have nearly as much negative impact, but even a fraction of that could be decisive in some races.
We have one last DesperationWatch 2026 planned, but today's post is already quite long, so we'll run it on Friday. If any readers have any good examples of ratfu**ing that are going on right now, please do let us know at comments@electoral-vote.com. And on that note, our thanks to readers J.G. in Dallas, PA, A.S. in Black Mountain, NC and L.B. in Savannah, GA for their assistance with this item. (Z & A)