Two earlier PoliTalking posts covered notable Republican midterm ads and notable Democratic midterm ads. This post adds eight more, four from each side, that were not covered there. They include a profane cost-of-living spot, two ads built with AI, a fact-check rating of “Pants on Fire,” a candidate’s brother speaking in her defense, and a state legislative race. Ads from candidate campaigns and from outside groups are labeled separately.
The list covers ads released from late summer through October 23, 2026. Reactions are media and political responses, not a ranking of which ads moved votes. Details may change as the campaigns continue.
1. Sherrod Brown: “Listen to this”
Ohio Senate | Democrat | Brown campaign
The ad: The ad splices a March interview clip of Republican Sen. Jon Husted, the incumbent, with voters reacting. In the clip, Husted talks about people living in poverty and says, “You literally have to teach people how to budget.” Two versions exist. The broadcast version aired statewide on television and on Black radio stations. The social media version uses profanity at the start and near the end, before Brown says he approves the message.
The reaction: WKRC in Cincinnati reported on the ad on October 1. A Brown spokeswoman did not address the profanity and said Husted insulted Ohio families. The report did not include a response from Husted’s campaign, and this article could not locate Husted’s own explanation of the remark. The claim that Husted is out of touch is the Brown campaign’s framing, not a checkable fact. Profanity as a tactic also appears in the Illinois ad covered in the earlier Democratic post.
Sources: Local 12 (WKRC)
2. Senate Leadership Fund: A transition surgery claim against Brown
Ohio Senate | Republican-aligned super PAC | Targets Sherrod Brown
The ad: The Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), a super PAC aligned with Senate Republicans, published two YouTube ads on September 24 and September 28. In them, Soren Aldaco says Brown supports sex changes for minors, calling it “irreversible surgery on kids” and adding “like me.”
The reaction: PolitiFact rated the claim Pants on Fire, its lowest rating. It found that Aldaco had surgery in Texas at age 19, when she was no longer a minor, and that Brown had no role in it. Ohio has barred gender-affirming medical care for minors since a 2024 law took effect, and PolitiFact found no evidence that Brown has said he supports such surgery. In a 2023 interview, Brown said children’s health care decisions belong to families and doctors. SLF spokesperson Chris Gustafson told PolitiFact that this statement shows Brown opposes any limits on these procedures for children. That reading is an interpretation, and the two sides dispute it. Brown called the ad a lie and released a counter-ad. A News 5 Cleveland investigation also found that Aldaco is from Texas.
A video link for this ad could not be confirmed, so no embed is included.
Sources: PolitiFact, News 5 Cleveland
3. James Talarico: “Most Corrupt”
Texas Senate | Democrat | Talarico campaign
The ad: This 30-second spot was Talarico’s first negative television ad of the race. It debuted on August 29 during TCU’s football opener as part of an existing eight-figure statewide buy. Talarico calls Republican Ken Paxton “the most corrupt politician in Texas” and points to Paxton’s real estate holdings and his impeachment. The Texas House impeached Paxton in 2023 on abuse-of-office allegations, and the Texas Senate acquitted him on all charges. “Most corrupt” is an opinion, and this article did not verify the real estate claims.
The reaction: The Texas Tribune noted that Talarico had spent nearly $29 million on ads, almost all of them positive, before this one. Paxton adviser Nick Maddux called the campaign a desperate attempt to hide Talarico’s own far-left record. The ad is older than most in this post, but it marked a change in tone and sets up the AI ad that follows.
Sources: Texas Tribune
4. Ken Paxton: “The King James Talarico Bible”
Texas Senate | Republican | Paxton campaign
The ad: Paxton’s campaign posted this 30-second ad on September 8. An AI-generated look-alike of Talarico writes in a book labeled “The King James Talarico Bible” and recites a passage assembled from separate remarks about Christianity, gender and Jesus. A small-print disclosure that the video was generated by artificial intelligence appears about 20 seconds in.
The reaction: FactCheck.org found that some statements lacked context, were strung together in ways the original remarks were not, and included phrases Talarico never said. For example, a line about God not being a Christian came from a 2023 sermon on Christian nationalism, where Talarico argued God is bigger than any one religion. Talarico told Fox News that some of his earlier remarks were meant to be provocative. His spokesperson JT Ennis accused Paxton’s side of trying to “put words in James’ mouth” with deepfakes. Commentator Mehdi Hasan said such ads should be illegal, and pollster Frank Luntz asked whether it was the first national TV ad to depict an opponent with AI. The Paxton campaign did not respond to FactCheck.org’s questions.
Sources: FactCheck.org, Newsweek (linked above)
5. Amy Acton: Her brother answers
Ohio governor | Democrat | Acton campaign
The ad: This 30-second spot, posted on October 20, features Acton’s brother, Phil Stearns. He describes abuse in their childhood, says Acton shielded him from the worst of it, and closes with “Shame on Vivek.” It came out the same day Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign acknowledged making the ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother, covered in the Republican ads post.
The reaction: Stearns said in a statement that the attack was a despicable low. Ramaswamy told reporters his campaign made the mother’s ad, considers it legitimate, and did not pay her. His spokesperson Connie Luck called Acton a “serial fabulist,” according to ABC30. This article could not independently verify either side’s account of the family history.
Sources: The Daily Beast, ABC30
6. Susan Collins: Troy Jackson’s debate remark
Maine Senate | Republican | Collins campaign
The ad: Released October 23, the ad turns a line from the October 15 debate in Bangor into an attack. A narrator says, “Troy has something to say to Maine women. Shut up.” At the debate, Collins said a person disrupting the event was one of Democrat Troy Jackson’s supporters. Jackson answered by telling the person to be quiet and saying he did not know him. The Sunrise Movement later said the protester was one of its members, and he was not among the guests Jackson had invited.
The reaction: Jackson’s campaign called the ad part of a series of personal attacks. Whether the remark was aimed at women is the ad’s framing, and Jackson has said he was responding to a heckler. A Fox News poll released October 22 had the two tied at 49% among likely voters. Separately, the Senate Leadership Fund aired a 60-second country-style song about Jackson’s personal life and family. The Collins campaign said that ad should be taken down, while Jackson’s campaign said Collins owes his family an apology. The PAC did not respond to the Press Herald.
Watch the video separately (AdImpact)
Sources: Bangor Daily News, Portland Press Herald (linked above)
7. Abdul El-Sayed: “Prayer”
Michigan Senate | Democrat | El-Sayed campaign
The ad: Released October 18 as a digital ad, it centers on El-Sayed’s faith. He says he prays every day, describes service to God and neighbors as a public duty, and says Michigan families feel hopeless. In a campaign statement he said, “Faith is a thing there’s just too little of in Washington.” The ad does not name his religion.
The reaction: The ad follows attacks from Republicans. President Trump has called El-Sayed a radical extremist, mocked his name at a Georgia rally and accused him of Muslim Brotherhood ties, according to American Bazaar. This article did not verify the Brotherhood claim. El-Sayed answered that he is running for U.S. Senate and “happen[s] to be Muslim.” The Daily Wire framed the ad skeptically and quoted a Detroit pastor who questioned whether El-Sayed should hold the seat. El-Sayed says he opposes writing any religion’s rules into law. A September Washington Post-Schar School poll had him at 48% and Republican Mike Rogers at 45%, within the margin of error.
Sources: El-Sayed campaign, American Bazaar (linked above), The Daily Wire
8. Michael Lee: “Bonkers Bichler”
North Carolina Senate, District 7 | Republican | Lee campaign
The ad: Lee, the state Senate majority leader, uses AI-generated clips of his Democratic opponent, Jessica Bichler, meditating and doing yoga. Bichler co-owns a Wilmington yoga studio. The narration calls her politics “bonkers” and says groups that support defunding police and free health care for people in the country illegally back her campaign, citing the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) as a source. The ad states that the clips are AI-generated. It had more than 550,000 YouTube views by September 3 and has aired repeatedly on local television.
The reaction: Bichler’s campaign sent a cease and desist letter saying the ad misstates her views. She said she had never heard of AFSC before Lee cited it and that the group has never given her money or been associated with her. Lee said his attorney was reviewing the letter. He argued voters should ask whether Bichler shares AFSC’s positions, noting that her campaign launch party was posted on a page bearing AFSC’s name, which her campaign called an error. The state Senate Democratic caucus accused Lee of relying on falsehoods, AI and deepfakes. This is the second election in a row in which a Lee ad drew a cease and desist letter, and Lee won the 2024 race by nearly nine points, WECT reported. This article could not verify the claims about which groups support Bichler or locate the North Carolina law that governs AI in political ads.
Sources: WECT (linked above), Talking Points Memo
Ads make their own arguments, and inclusion here is not an endorsement of any candidate or claim. Videos are hosted by third-party providers, and each entry has a separate watch link if an embed does not load.
