Political Wire

  • Front Page
  • Members
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
  • Trending
  • Resources
    • Politics Extra
    • Political Job Hunt
    • Political Dictionary
    • Electoral Vote Map
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Wednesday
  • Thursday
  • Friday
  • Saturday
  • Sunday
  • Monday
  • Today
Members should sign in for the full experience.

Democratic Groups Target GOP Lawmakers Over Shutdown

September 20, 2023 at 7:53 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A trio of Democratic outside groups are launching new TV and digital ads Wednesday targeting House Republicans over the potential government shutdown,” NBC News reports.

Filed Under: Political Advertising

Mike Pence Gets Outplayed by a Gas Pump

August 9, 2023 at 4:05 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Mike Pence has released a new campaign ad attacking President Joe Biden for high gas prices—but it’s gone viral for all the wrong reasons,” the Daily Beast reports.

“As he delivers his spiel to the camera… the gas pump can be heard beeping off camera with increasing urgency, beckoning him, as gas pumps do, to pay and select a kind of fuel. He somehow keeps up the whole charade throughout the incessant beeping, holding the nozzle into his gas tank as if viewers might not notice there’s no gas coming out.”

Filed Under: 2024 Campaign, Political Advertising

Lawmakers Bought Ads in Chinese Foreign Agent Paper

August 7, 2023 at 8:30 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Examiner: “Campaigns for eight Democratic and Republican politicians have paid over $41,500 combined between 2011 and 2023 for advertisements in Sing Tao U.S… The newspaper is a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based Sing Tao News Corporation and reported itself as a foreign agent in 2021 that is involved in ‘political activity.'”

Filed Under: Political Advertising

You are reading the free version of Political Wire.

  • If you enjoy it, become a member to get many great benefits.
  • If you're already a member, log in to get the full experience.

Why Biden’s MTG Ad is So Damn Effective

July 21, 2023 at 12:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Dan Pfeiffer: “Earlier this week, President Biden tweeted out this video of Greene making an impressively persuasive case for Bidenomics.”

“To say people went bananas for this video would be a huge understatement. It had 10 million views across all platforms within three hours. That number was over 50 million by Thursday. Marjorie Taylor Greene stumbling into a campaign ad for Biden is just too much fun.”

“It’s embarrassing for Greene and highlights her willfully ignorant approach to public life. The video is also a testament to the talented folks doing digital rapid response for Biden and the Democratic National Committee. Strategically, this video bodes well for Team Biden as they prepare for a long and brutal campaign.”

“I love dunking on MTG, but I am in love with this video for another reason — it is the archetype of what political communicators should aim for.”

Filed Under: Political Advertising

DeSantis Ad Uses AI Generated Voice of Trump

July 17, 2023 at 8:28 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A pro-Ron DeSantis super PAC uses an Artificial Intelligence version of Donald Trump’s voice in a new television ad attacking the former president,” Politico reports.

“Its content appears to be based off of a post that Trump made on his social media site Truth Social last week…. It will run statewide in Iowa tomorrow and the ad buy was at least $1 million — a massive sum though one doable for the well-heeled super PAC.”

Filed Under: 2024 Campaign, Political Advertising

‘Keep Republicans Out of Your Bedroom’

July 15, 2023 at 5:37 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new ad from Progress Action Fund might be the raciest political ad ever.

The Wrap: “The scene opens up with a man and a woman kissing in bed, both of them in their underwear with the woman straddling the man and asking if he has a condom. When the man reaches into his nightstand drawer in hopes of practicing safe sex, an elderly, white male hand snatches the condom out before he can, causing both the woman and her lover to scream in confusion at the dark-suited, red-tied man standing over them.”

Said the elderly man: “Sorry, you can’t use those… I’m your Republican congressman. Now that we’re in charge, we’re banning birth control.”

Filed Under: Political Advertising

AI Political Ads Are Here

June 8, 2023 at 3:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Vice News: “AI-generated political ads are officially here. And no one—including the campaigns themselves, let alone the voters—are prepared to handle this new reality.”

“Artificial intelligence is becoming more sophisticated by the day, and candidates and campaigns are just beginning to grapple with practical and ethical concerns over AI-produced content creeping into politics. The time when a deepfake videos which can’t be easily discerned from real events play a major role in campaigns seems not only inevitable but closer than ever.”

Filed Under: Political Advertising

Antiabortion Group Used Cell Data to Target Ads

May 18, 2023 at 10:35 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A Midwest antiabortion group used cellphone location data to target online content to visitors of certain Planned Parenthood clinics,” the Wall Street Journal reports. 

“The campaign used a common digital-advertising technology called geofencing to extract the unique device identifiers of phones carried into Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers… It then used those device IDs to target those people on popular social-networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat with antiabortion messaging.”

“All three social networks said the ads violated their policies and said future such campaigns would be rejected.”

Filed Under: Abortion, Political Advertising

Bill Would Require Disclosure of AI Content in Political Ads

May 2, 2023 at 9:54 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) introduced legislation that would require disclosure of AI-generated content in political ads — part of an effort, she said, to “get the Congress going on addressing many of the challenges that we’re facing with AI,” the Washington Post reports.

Filed Under: Political Advertising, Technology

Trump Pours Money Into Digital Ads

April 11, 2023 at 12:37 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Donald Trump has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into Facebook and Google ads in recent weeks, leveraging the chaos around his indictment to fundraise and collect data ahead of his 2024 run,” Axios reports.

“Trump used the exact same playbook ahead of the 2020 election.”

Filed Under: 2024 Campaign, Political Advertising

Twitter Fails to Report Some Political Ads

April 10, 2023 at 7:41 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Elon Musk took over Twitter last fall with a pledge of transparency for the social media giant — but so far political advertising on the platform has been anything but forthcoming,” Politico reports.

“Twitter has failed to disclose some political ads running on its site since early March… At least three promoted fundraising tweets were not included in Twitter’s own data, seemingly contradicting the company’s policies and raising doubts about the integrity of the platform’s data and how many other political ads could go unreported.”

Filed Under: Political Advertising

Twitter Plans to Expand Political Ads

January 4, 2023 at 5:31 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Twitter Inc. said it plans to expand the political advertising it allows on the social-media platform after banning most political ads in 2019, in the latest policy change by new owner Elon Musk,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The company also said Tuesday that it is relaxing its policy for cause-based ads in the U.S. Such ads call for people to take action, educate and raise awareness in connection with the following categories: civic engagement, economic growth, environmental stewardship and social-equity causes.”

Filed Under: Political Advertising

Inflammatory Radio Ad Blitz Hits Battleground States

November 1, 2022 at 11:01 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“One of the biggest radio ad blitzes in the final stretch of the midterm elections is a provocative package of advertisements aimed at deepening cultural divides over transgender care for children and racial tensions,” the New York Times reports.

“Financed by two groups run by former Trump administration officials, the ads have been placed with Black and Hispanic radio stations, along with conservative talk radio stations.”

“But the inflammatory radio spots contrast with a more standard-issue ad campaign this month from former President Donald Trump. Mr. Trump’s TV spots, created by his super PAC, MAGA Inc., have promoted messages on inflation and crime that generally align in both issue and tone with those of many Republican candidates seeking federal office.”

Filed Under: 2022 Campaign, Political Advertising

Who Paid for This Ad?

October 30, 2022 at 7:49 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A super PAC ad that ran during the World Series may have well been paid for by Vladimir Putin himself.

Filed Under: 2022 Campaign, Political Advertising

Kari Lake Runs New Ad Featuring Homophobic Pastor

October 25, 2022 at 10:35 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

David Corn looks at a new ad from Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake (R).

“It covers the Republican basics: A seemingly conscientious and decent owner of a small business—and his family—is dealing with economic hardship and feels endangered by those liberal Democrats. But the ad leaves out important information: Erickson is not merely a local business owner concerned with inflation; he is a homophobic and Islamophobic pastor.”

Filed Under: 2022 Campaign, Political Advertising Tagged With: AZ-Sen

Why Am I Seeing That Political Ad?

October 23, 2022 at 8:11 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Voter-profiling systems like the Covid-19 scores may be invisible to most people. But they provide a glimpse into a vast voter data-mining ecosystem in the United States involving dozens of political consulting, analytics, media, marketing and advertising software companies.”

“In the run-up to the midterm elections next month, campaigns are tapping a host of different scores and using them to create castes of their most desirable voters. There are ‘gun owner,’ ‘pro-choice’ and ‘Trump 2024’ scores, which cover everyday politics. There are also voter rankings on hot-button issues — a ‘racial resentment’ score, for example, and a ‘trans athletes should not participate’ score. There’s even a ‘U.F.O.s distrust government’ score.”

“Campaign and media consultants say such political-issue scores make it easier for candidates to surgically target messages to, and mobilize, the most receptive voters.”

Filed Under: Political Advertising

Ad Spending Likely to Be Double from Four Years Ago

October 21, 2022 at 9:04 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“As the midterm campaign heads into its final weeks, political ad spending for the current two-year election cycle is on pace to more than double from the 2018 midterms,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Filed Under: 2022 Campaign, Political Advertising

Attack Ads Are Darkening the Skin of Black Candidates

October 19, 2022 at 8:56 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Bulwark: “It’s working. Once ahead in the polls, Democrat Mandela Barnes, the lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, is now trailing Republican incumbent Ron Johnson in the state’s race for U.S. Senate, a shift also seen recently in other important races. One factor is an onslaught of negative messaging that seeks to paint Barnes as a crime-loving radical. A key word here is ‘paint.'”

“One of the ads, from the National Republican Senate Committee, ends with a shot that brands Barnes, who is black, as “different” and “dangerous” as it pictures him alongside three congresswomen of color who are members of “The Squad,” none of whom has campaigned with him. For good measure, the state Republican party sent out a mailer in which the color of Barnes’s skin has clearly been darkened.”

Filed Under: Political Advertising, Race

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 15
  • Next Page »

Members get exclusive analysis, a trending news page, bonus newsletters and no advertising. Learn more.

Subscribe

Your Account

Sign in

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

Praise for Political Wire

“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”

— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”

“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”

— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report

“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”

— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”

— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

“Political Wire is a great, great site.”

— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”

— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit

“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”

— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.

Copyright © 2023 · Goddard Media LLC | Privacy Policy

Political Wire ® is a registered trademark of Goddard Media LLC