# Have you noticed this political ad trend? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 21, 2026, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238 "2026-09-21T04:56:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238/1 "2026-09-21T04:56:29Z")
Because I watch sports and don’t always watch shows that are streaming I’m still exposed to political ads on TV. Because of where I live I am seeing midterm ads for NJ, NY and sometimes Connecticut races. Because I’m seeing candidates from multiple districts I’m sometimes not familiar with them. One thing I’m noticing across multiple races are ads that make no mention of the political party of the candidate. Today I saw 6 different ads for 6 different candidates and not one of those ads mentioned if they were Republican or Democrat. The ads were from both sides. I know this because I had to look up some of them. Is this a new trend or am I just noticing it now? Maybe it’s a regional thing? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238/2 "2026-09-21T04:58:00Z")
I’m in Iowa, and I noticed that too. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238/3 "2026-09-21T05:00:16Z")
I haven’t noticed. But it sounds like they’re trying to distance themselves. I’ll watch tomorrow and see what I see around these parts. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238/4 "2026-09-21T05:24:46Z")
I think it’s a partial trend as some local candidates in San Diego are not affiliating with parties in their ads. I think it’s mainly some of the new candidates from the various parties. However I’ve seen some ads for incumbents where they declared affiliation. But it’s early in the cycle in California. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238/5 "2026-09-21T07:22:42Z")
Were they actually running for partisan offices? Maybe the ad networks pegged you as an independent/undecided voter? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238/6 "2026-09-21T07:42:27Z")
Right now, neither the Democratic nor Republican parties enjoy much of a good image or party popularity at all. It makes sense that candidates would distance themselves from party. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238/7 "2026-09-21T07:58:14Z")
I wish someone would seize the opportunity and form a viable third party. The red and blue ones don’t even try to hide how corrupt and aloof they are anymore. ---
**Author:** ![JDYanYan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jdyanyan/32/21663_2.png) [@JDYanYan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDYanYan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238/8 "2026-09-21T09:05:01Z")
“Just make a viable third party” is one of those things that fails to appreciate why that hasn’t been done since the 19th century. Even setting aside that most elections in the US are FPTP and 3rd parties will always help whichever party that’s opposed to their ideas the most. You need lots of people who agree with you, and are politically engaged, and want to do a lot of rigorous organizing, and donate a lot of money. The number of people willing and able to do that is probably pretty limited, and their capabilities would probably pull them into existing party politics (which is to say Democratic politics, since Republicans are mostly recruiting Neo Nazis as jr staffers these days) where so much more infrastructure and serious people are readily available. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238/9 "2026-09-21T09:12:02Z")
I live in the Philly suburbs and that’s been the standard for at least a few years. I try to read between the lines and see if I can guess what party, but they’re generally generic “I’ll fight for the little guy” stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238/10 "2026-09-21T11:22:09Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Were they actually running for partisan offices? > > Maybe the ad networks pegged you as an independent/undecided voter? I mentioned in the OP that these are midterm elections. If that wasn’t clear I meant they are election ads for US Congress. > [@Stratocaster](#): > > I live in the Philly suburbs and that’s been the standard for at least a few years. I try to read between the lines and see if I can guess what party, but they’re generally generic “I’ll fight for the little guy” stuff. That’s what it seems like to me. If it was a very partisan issue like support for Trump it’s pretty easy to figure out. The Democrat running against Tom Kean Jr has ads against their opponent stock trading while in Congress. The Republican running against Tom Souzzi had ads against their opponent stock trading while in Congress. Neither ad said anything about who was in either party. Both of those races are close and in relatively purple districts so that may play into it. I just don’t remember seeing it before. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238/11 "2026-09-21T14:03:27Z")
Those of you who find the lack of party identification odd, where are you? I grew up in Maryland, and since 2013 have lived in Nevada, Georgia, and now Massachusetts. In those places, for the last 20+ years, ISTM that ads and signs identifying the candidate’s party are very much the exception, rather than the rule. I think that we have become so polarized that in general there’s no advantage to identifying the party. You’re going to automatically alienate about half of the audience. Better to just make your case and hope to either pull people to your side or push them away from your opponent. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238/12 "2026-09-21T14:21:52Z")
In the Massachusetts governor race, neither candidate is identifying their party in their own ads, but the attack ads against the Republican challenger Minogue are hitting “He’ll bring MAGA to Massachusetts” pretty hard. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238/13 "2026-09-21T14:35:06Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > I think that we have become so polarized that in general there’s no advantage to identifying the party. You’re going to automatically alienate about half of the audience. This is correct, at least around here. I don’t think any yard signs I’ve seen in MO have stated the political party in years. Most ads don’t either, and haven’t for a long time. What would be the point? Voters with strong political-party preferences are going to vote for the candidate of that party - no commercial is going to change their mind. The two main goals, as I understand it, of ads are to depress turnout of the opposition (attack ads, basically) and to sway that small number of truly swingy voters (the soft-focus “working for the little guy” ads). The best ways to do both of those things are to focus on the candidate names, not their parties. A pretty significant number of voters vote largely on vibes - they see attack ads and get a negative feeling about a candidate or see positive ads and get a good feeling about a candidate. > [@muldoonthief](#): > > attack ads against the Republican challenger Minogue are hitting “He’ll bring MAGA to Massachusetts” pretty hard I could see this working well in a place like MA where even long-time GOP voters may not be MAGA. It’s a solid way to cut through the “always vote for the same party” line by emphasizing that the current GOP is not the GOP of Mitt Romney. That cuts the other way with attack ads targeting DSA-supported candidates on the Democratic side. If you can undermine brand loyalty by painting the candidate as not a “real X” you can possibly sway some of the opposite party’s base. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238/14 "2026-09-21T14:59:29Z")
I’m seeing the same thing, including multiple ads for Ned Lamont (incumbent Democratic Connecticut governor) and Ryan Fazio (his Republican opponent) as well as for Bruce Blakeman (Republican running for New York State governor against Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul). The ads against Blakeman and Fazio emphasize where they have supported Trump or his positions. And, by the way, Ryan Fazio’s ad are really idiotic. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238/15 "2026-09-21T15:19:08Z")
My 6-term Republican Congresswoman is running only a single ad – attacking her “Democratic Socialist” (he isn’t) opponent. The ad doesn’t mention her party affiliation, OTOH anyone who doesn’t know where she stands after six terms probably won’t vote for anyone, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238/16 "2026-09-21T15:51:57Z")
Half a century ago, when UK voters went to the polling station, the list of candidates showed only names. In theory, we still vote for an individual, but now that they print the party affiliation beside the names, most people just vote for whatever party they currently favour. This explains why so many Reform people have had to resign. Voters disillusioned with Labour and Conservatives, just voted for Reform, not caring a jot about the character of the candidate. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238/17 "2026-09-21T15:55:10Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > In those places, for the last 20+ years, ISTM that ads and signs identifying the candidate’s party are very much the exception, rather than the rule. I’m not saying it’s new, I’m saying I don’t remember it happening before. I won’t presume it didn’t happen just because I don’t remember. I zeroed in on it because of some commercials for a race where I wasn’t familiar with either candidate and I couldn’t figure out their parties from the generic messages in the ads. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238/18 "2026-09-21T17:38:21Z")
Ann Wagner? My personal best-case for this election is that the blue wave is just big enough to wipe her out. We got close in 2018 and 2020, but Fred Wellman seems to be a pretty decent candidate with a unique background to run an anti-incumbent campaign. And yes, you have to look very hard on his socials and website to find any mention of his party. Pretty unlikely, but a man can dream. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238/19 "2026-09-21T17:51:26Z")
Yup, it’s invisible Ann. As for Wellman, he has at least a slight hope if Missouri ends up using the 2022 districts and the Red turnout is weak. But if we end up with the 2025 districts, he’s lost already. ---
**Author:** ![Hawkeyeop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/958977/32.png) [@Hawkeyeop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hawkeyeop)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238/20 "2026-09-21T18:02:26Z")
I think a lot of it is both parties are just deeply unpopular right now. Candidates need to be more popular than their party typically to win, so not associating with them whenever possible makes sense. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-noticed-this-political-ad-trend/1033238.md?page=2)