A PAC backing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has released a toxically homophobic and transphobic ad accusing his primary challenger - the Donald Trump-endorsed Ed Gallrein - of being "bought and paid for by the LGBTQ Mafia," supporting "freak values" and standing "with the weirdos."
A super PAC dedicated to reelecting Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine recently put nearly $2 million behind television and YouTube ads attacking likely Democratic candidate Graham Platner. The spots, which began airing more than a month before the June 9 Democratic primary, focus exclusively on decade-old personal social-media posts and a tattoo Platner got as a young man and has since covered up. There is no discussion of policy, voting records, or Platner's platform as a Marine veteran running as a working-class populist. Instead, the ads-focused on the theme "Who Is The Real Graham Platner?"-center entirely on personal attacks, financed largely by out-of-state billionaires and Republican-aligned "dark money" groups seeking to preserve Collins's seat and the GOP Senate majority.
The first time Highland Park resident Paul Zappia received a mailer criticizing Eunisses Hernandez, his representative on the Los Angeles City Council, he tossed it in the trash. Then another arrived in his mailbox. And another, and another after that. Each came from a group called Neighbors First, which has been attacking Hernandez, a democratic socialist, over her votes against police hiring and her opposition to a law barring homeless encampments near schools. Zappia, who supports Hernandez in the June 2 primary, said he looked up Neighbors First on its website but couldn't find any information - not a staff directory, a phone number or even an email address - about the group.
In her new ad, Katie Porter humorously references a past incident where she yelled at a staffer, saying, 'Now, could you guys please get out of my shot.' This moment showcases her ability to laugh at herself and indicates personal growth.
Democratic Senate candidates spent more than $50 million on political ads, with Krishnamoorthi spending roughly twice as much as any other candidate. Outside groups also poured money into the race. Super PACs backed by cryptocurrency interests spent nearly $10 million in attack ads against Stratton.
The group largely disguised the millions it spent across four Illinois House races, funneling money through PACs with anodyne names like Elect Chicago Women and Chicago Progressive Partnership. The latter group targeted pro-Palestinian progressives by going after their leftist bona fides - essentially accusing them of being closet Republicans - and even, in one case, boosting a left-wing splinter candidate.
JewBelong cofounder Archie Gottesman accused Somo of censoring Jewish voices "at the very moment antisemitism is surging." Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt also condemned the ads' removal, saying, "If acknowledging that Jewish New Yorkers sometimes feel compelled to hide visible symbols of their identity is considered controversial, that should alarm all of us."
Two ads among the many aired during Sunday's Super Bowl broadcast didn't sell beer, cars, fast food or cell phone services; rather they were opening salvos of what could be one of the year's most expensive ballot measure duels. One spot denounced personal injury attorneys who promise justice for victims of accidents and assaults but take big chunks of settlements and judgments.
JDCA's 30-second ad, titled It's Gone Too Far, began airing Monday on MSNBC's Morning Joe and various CNN programs, including AC360 and Erin Burnett's OutFront. The organization said Fox News refused to carry the ad. JDCA CEO Halie Soifer told Mediaite that the group placed a national ad buy on Friday with the intention of running the spot nationally on Fox & Friends, the morning program widely viewed as President Donald Trump's favorite television show.
2024 is shaping up to be the biggest global election year yet. While the international spotlight is on the US presidential election race, more than 60 countries will have held regional, legislative, and presidential elections by the end of the year, according to Politico. For constituents, this has translated to a barrage of non-stop campaign ads across TV, radio, mobile devices, the internet, direct mail, billboards, and more.
She unveiled her candidacy this morning with a campaign ad that wastes no time getting to her qualifications: "For years, I covered the biggest football games in America." Tafoya insists that the years she spent on NFL sidelines asking coaches who were contractually obligated to speak to her questions like, "How can you guys turn this around in the second half?" taught her "how leadership really works."
The ads, from a straightforward-looking news site called the California Courier, often felt a lot like campaign commercials, linking to articles hammering Democrats in the state, including Gov. Gavin Newsom. Few punched in the other direction, toward Republicans. One said, "California Democrats just rewrote their gerrymandering plan so voters will see their partisan map on the ballot this November." Another called Proposition 50, which passed in November, "a scheme critics say is meant to undermine voter-approved protections and entrench one party rule in California."
Bright yellow sweatshirts emblazoned with I TIM KELLER are being handed out to city residents experiencing homelessness, but no one seems to know who is behind them. Tim Keller running for re-election as mayor says it isn't him, and his campaign called it a disgraceful stunt. Some people said they got the hooded sweatshirts at shelters; others said they were handed out on the street. Pebblez, who is unhoused, said the people distributing them did not reveal who they were: They didn't identify themselves. They had no tags. They weren't wearing anything. They just asked if we wanted sweaters.
Independent mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo received sharp criticism after his campaign inadvertently launched an AI-generated Criminals for Zohran Mamdani ad on social media during Wednesday night's mayoral debate, which was labeled as racist and Islamophobic. The two-minute ad, aired around 20 minutes after the start of the Oct. 22 debate, was quickly deleted by the Cuomo campaign but drew widespread condemnation from social media users and has been reshared countless times.
A new attack ad from Senate Republicans uses Sen. Chuck Schumer's real words about the government shutdown but in an AI deepfake of the Democratic Senate Minority Leader. The 30-second video posted on X and YouTube by the National Republican Senatorial Committee on Friday raised alarms among many observers who warned it crossed a new boundary in politics and could unleash a flood of AI-generated deepfake attack ads.
The ad begins with Teeny Chirichillo, a finalist from season 47 who was most notable for consistently getting snowed by their ally Genevieve Mushalak, saying, "Andrew, New Yorkers want a mayor who will make groceries and child care affordable, not sell us out to their billionaire donors." Former Survivor players write Cuomo's name down on a ballot, including season-43 winner Yam Yam Arocho, season-45 fifth-placer Katurah Topps, and season-48 first-out Stephanie Berger, who is hopefully casting her first successful vote.
in a way that compelled me to say "hmm, I bet I could write something funny about that." Isn't it interesting that the stories that work best for The Trash Report are the ones that come about on the nights I'm not in charge of my child's bedtime and get a quiet hour to stare at my small rectangle with a glass of wine? It's a science, this writing thing.
