As the midterms get closer, campaigns continue to use artificial intelligence in campaign ads and videos.
Here are examples of how campaigns and groups are using new technology to project a positive image of candidates and slam opponents.
Gottheimer in the Ring
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., a gubernatorial candidate, wants his voters to get the impression he’s fighting President Donald Trump in Congress, and a new video from his campaign presents that idea in a very literal manner.
In this largely AI-generated video, a likeness of Gottheimer takes on Trump in the boxing ring.
“Josh Gottheimer’s been fighting for people all his life. He worked for Presidents Clinton and Obama,” says the narrator as an AI-generated image of Gottheimer standing next to the two presidents in front of the Capitol appears.
In the climax of the advertisement, Gottheimer lifts his arms up in victory after a “Raging Bull”-esque fistfight with a besuited Trump.
Platner’s Posts
The National Republican Senatorial Committee is taking aim at Maine Democrat Senate candidate Graham Platner’s online history.
In a video posted in April, a deepfake likeness of Platner is shown shirtless, hunched over a laptop as he types incessantly.
A narrator’s voice, which sounds much like Platner’s, reads out some of Platner’s resurfaced comments from online forum posts.
NRSC already made use of deepfake technology with a similar video, in which a likeness of Texas Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico reads out his posts from X.
The video has a watermark disclosing that it is AI-generated, and a narrator specifies at the beginning and end that it is a “dramatic reading.”
Platner’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the video, but he has previously said he has “transformed over time” since the posts and regrets them.
Burning Down a Barn
Conservative group Virginians for Fair Maps is out with a video blasting Gov. Abigail Spanberger for supporting pro-Democrat redistricting.
“Abigail Spanberger and the Richmond Democrats want to burn Virginia’s democracy to the ground,” says the narrator as a likeness of Spanberger is shown using a match and a jerry can of gasoline to burn down a barn.
“Their rigged maps are designed to elect 10 Democrats and only one Republican. It’s a scam that would end competitive elections in Virginia and create a liberal inferno,” the narrator adds.
Spanberger’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the video.
