Roy Moore sues Highway 31 Super PAC over negative campaign ads
Failed Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore has filed a defamation lawsuit against a super PAC, claiming the campaign ads that ran during the Alabama U.S. Senate special election in December damaged his reputation. Melissa Isaak, Moore’s attorney, said the Highway 31 Super PAC ran widespread defamatory and misleading ads during the 2017 race, which doubled-down on accusations of sexual misconduct that surfaced against Moore during the campaign. The suit alleges Highway 31 ran the “false” ads and “intentionally or recklessly failed to confirm the accuracy” of them. “Despite knowing that the content was false or in reckless disregard thereof each one of (the defendants) did in fact run advertisements that contained false and defaming material,” the complaint reads. Moore and his attorney announced the lawsuit during a press conference on Wednesday. “The Moore’s have every intention of fighting back,” said Isaak said during the press conference with Moore and his wife, Kayla. In November, The Washington Post published a bombshell report with the accounts of Corfman, Gibson, and one other woman who claimed Moore sexually pursued them when he was in his 30s and they were in their teens. Moore previously filed an earlier defamation suit in April when he sued some of the women who made accusations against him — Marjorie Leigh Corfman, Debbie Wesson Gibson, Beverly Young Nelson, Tina Turner Johnson, and other “unknown” defendants — for causing “irrevocable damage” to his reputation “that affected the outcome of the Senate election in December 2017.” Watch Moore’s press conference announcing the lawsuit below:
2018 runoff election ad round-up: July 13 edition
The July 17 runoff election is only four days away and Alabama’s candidates have taken to the internet and the airwaves with campaign ads in hopes of swaying Yellowhammer State voters to their side. This week Republican Lieutenant Governor candidates Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh and Will Ainsworth are back at it again with the negative ads. Meanwhile Incumbent Attorney General Steve Marshall has been fighting his own battle with Troy King this week, calling him out in his new ad. While some campaigns have turned negative, Judge Michelle Thomason, Christy Edwards, and Martha Roby have chosen to focus their ads on their own merits. Lieutenant Governor Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh: Title: Ainsworth’s Real Record Published: July 6, 2018 Tone: Malicious Will Ainsworth: Title: Believe Published: July 10, 2018 Tone: Thoughtful Attorney General Steve Marshall: Title: Fake News Published: July 9, 2018 Tone: Frustrated Civil Appeals Court: Place 1 Michelle Thomason: Title: Judge Michelle Thomason Published: July 12, 2018 Tone: Laudatory Michelle Thomason: Title: Judge Michelle Thomason Published: July 12, 2018 Tone: Nostalgic Christy Edwards: Title: Christy Edwards Runoff Published: July 9, 2018 Tone: Sincere U.S. Congressional District 2 Martha Roby: Title: Numbers Published: June 9, 2018 Tone: Frank
2018 runoff election ad round-up: July 6 edition
The July 17 runoff election is only 11 days away and Alabama’s candidates have taken to the internet and the airwaves with campaign ads in hopes of swaying Yellowhammer State voters to their side. In the past week, Republican Lieutenant Governor candidates Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh and Will Ainsworth have been at one another’s throats while other runoff candidates, like Judge Michelle Thomason have focused their ads on their own merits. Martha Roby joined in the frenzy; going after runoff opponent Bobby Bright in her new campaign ad. Lieutenant Governor Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh: Title: Giving Back Published: June 25, 2018 Tone: Conciliatory Title: The Real Con Artist Published: June 28, 2018 Tone: Derisive Title: Governor Mike Huckabee Endorses Twinkle for Lt. Governor Published: July 2, 2018 Tone: Indignant Will Ainsworth: Title: Up There Published: June 27, 2018 Tone: Playful Civil Appeals Court: Place 1 Michelle Thomason: Title: Judge Thomason and the Veteran’s Court Published: July 5, 2018 Tone: Sympathetic Title: Judge Michelle Thomason for Our Families Published: July 5, 2018 Tone: Virtuous U.S. Congressional District 2 Martha Roby: Title: Clear Published: June 21, 2018 Tone: Aggressive
2018 gubernatorial ad roundup: March 23 edition
The countdown is on to the June 5 Republican and Democrat primaries, and Alabama’s gubernatorial candidates have taken to the airwaves and the internet with campaign ads in hopes of swaying Yellowhammer State voters to their side. Since the end of the official qualifying period, only four of the major candidates have released official campaign ads: incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey, Mobile-Republican state Sen. Bill Hightower, former Alabama Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb, and Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox. Here are the ads the candidates have released this week: Republicans Bill Hightower: Title: Deeds Published: March 23, 2018 Tone: Determined Kay Ivey Title: Moving Alabama Forward Published: March 6, 2018 Tone: Encouraging and earnest Title: Kay Ivey supports President Trump’s agenda Published: March 6, 2018 Tone: Supportive Title: Kay supports your right to bear arms Published: March 6, 2018 Tone: Understanding Title: Three hours Published: March 13, 2018 Tone: Candid, confident https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXF9PiueWyQ Democrats Sue Bell Cobb: Title: Alabama Lifelong Learner Lottery – Pre-K 4 Funding Published: March 19, 2018 Tone: Hopeful Title: Does Alabama Have One Unsafe Bridge Too Many? Published: March 21, 2018 Tone: Negative Walt Maddox Title: t Published: January 26, 2018 Tone: Optimistic, compassionate
Facebook: Accounts from Russia bought ads during US campaign
Facebook says it has identified nearly 500 fake accounts, probably run from Russia, that it says spent about $100,000 on ads that amplified politically divisive issues during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. Facebook Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos says in a statement Wednesday the company discovered the accounts during a review of ad buys. That review was spurred by a broader investigation into Russian interference in the election. Stamos says the 470 fake accounts and pages didn’t specifically reference the election, a candidate or voting. But he says the 3,000 ads promoted political messages on a range of issues from gun rights to race issues. The ads were purchased between June 2015 and May 2017. Facebook says it shared its findings with federal authorities. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Alabama US Senate ad roundup: 7/11/17 edition
The countdown is on to the August 15 Alabama U.S. Senate primary, and candidates haven taken to the airwaves and the internet with campaign ads in hopes of swaying Yellowhammer State voters to their side. To date, only the Republican candidates have released any official campaign ads. Here are the ads the candidates have released thus far: Mo Brooks Title: Build the Wall Published: July 10, 2017 Tone: Determined Bryan Peeples Title: The Voice of the People Published: June 13, 2017 Tone: Optimistic Luther Strange Title: Diner Published: July 11, 2017 Tone: Informative Title: Wall Published: June 27, 2017 Tone: Determined Title: Fought Obama Administration And Won Published: June 8, 2017 Tone: No words, just text Title: Alabama Conservative Published: May 16, 2017 Tone: Informative
New Hillary Clinton ads lay out closing arguments for campaign
Hillary Clinton is out with two new ads in the final days of the presidential race. A campaign official says the ads are part of a final series laying out a closing argument for the Democratic presidential nominee’s campaign. One ad features Clinton discussing her plans to help children and families if she’s elected president. The second ad is narrated by actor Morgan Freeman and contrasts Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. Freeman says: “Our children are looking to us. What example will we set?” The campaign says the ads will air in Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania and on national cable. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Presidential TV ad roundup: 4/5/16 edition
As the presidential field has winnowed to five candidates, campaigns from both sides of the aisle have honed their targets primarily on one candidate: Donald Trump. According to data provided by Kantar Media/CMAG, more than half of the record spending on negative advertising during the 2016 presidential primary has been directed at the GOP-front runner. With more than $132 million spent on negative ads by candidates and their Super PACs, nearly $70 million has gone to commercials attacking Trump, Here are the ads the candidates released this past week: Ted Cruz Title: Simple flat tax Published: April 14, 2016 Tone: Informative Title: Great Published: April 15, 2016 Tone: Insulting John Kasich Title: Values Published: April 7, 2016 Tone: Condemnatory Title: One choice Published: April 8, 2016 Tone: Critical Title: Two paths, America has a choice Published: April 13, 2016 Tone: Encouraging Donald Trump No new videos posted. Hillary Clinton Title: Norma Published: April 7, 2016 Tone: Appreciative Title: Every corner Published: April 7, 2016 Tone: Proud Title: Stronger together Published: April 11, 2016 Tone: Critical Title: Came through Published: April 15, 2016 Tone: Hopeful Bernie Sanders Title: Dear New York, Please Make The Right Choice On April 19th Published: April 13, 2016 Tone: Condemnatory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwYcstt2D5U
GOP ads give Democrats anti-Donald Trump playbook
“Bimbo. Dog. Fat pig,” disgusted women say, looking straight into the camera. Another explains, “Real quotes from Donald Trump, about women.” Flip the channel. “I know words. I have the best words,” Trump says. That commercial proceeds with a 30-second, bleeped-out tour of his coarsest comments. Both ads – and dozens more that portray Trump as a selfish, deceptive buffoon – are sponsored by fellow Republicans trying to derail the political outsider from capturing their party’s presidential nomination. But these ads are also providing Democrats with attacks that could be recycled verbatim for the general election and slapped with the tagline, “Hillary Clinton approves this message.” An Associated Press review of political ads tracked by Kantar Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group found 68 different anti-Trump commercials have been shown some 40,000 times across the country on broadcast television. About one of every 10 presidential ads shown over the past year has taken a shot at Trump, a rate that has picked up this month as polls suggest the billionaire’s already low favorability ratings with the general public are deflating. And Democrats say they’re closely monitoring the Republican hit-pieces. “It’s interesting to watch Republican super PACs as a kind of test run for the kinds of things we would do,” said David Brock, who steers several outside efforts to help Clinton. Justin Barasky, spokesman for Priorities USA, the best-financed of the pro-Clinton groups, said Republicans are “saving us money by beating him up. It’s certainly not unhelpful.” Priorities is reserving $70 million in commercial time for the general election starting late summer, and Barasky said the group anticipates it will begin spending against Trump even sooner. For his part, Trump has said the attack ads aren’t working, pointing to his decisive victory in Florida in the face of a multimillion-dollar effort there to tear him down. Responding to the ad featuring his comments on women, Trump told CNN this week that “half of that was show business.” Trump’s Republican attackers argue their efforts are worth it – even if they ultimately weaken the GOP nominee. “I don’t see the ads as the risk; he is the risk,” said Tim Miller, a spokesman for Our Principles, which has spent more than $16 million this year on TV, radio and digital ads, including the spot featuring women reading Trump comments. “That’s the point we’re trying to make. Don’t nominate someone this vulnerable to attacks from the Democratic Party.” Our Principles embraces its role as potential spoiler: One online advertisement begins by warning viewers that what they are about to see would be repeated by Democrats if Trump is the GOP nominee. A similar scenario played out four years ago with Mitt Romney. At the start of the 2012 GOP primaries, more voters had a favorable than unfavorable view of Romney. During the primaries, though, the super PAC backing Newt Gingrich portrayed him as an unfeeling businessman. By the time Romney earned the nomination in April, his numbers had flipped, with more voters viewing him negatively than positively. Over the summer, Priorities USA built on the Gingrich group’s volleys to attack Romney in the general election. Events could unfold similarly for Trump. Ratings of Trump among the general public have been consistently negative, but recent surveys have suggested those views have grown stronger since the contentious primaries began. An NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll conducted in March found a slight increase in negative ratings of Trump among registered voters since their previous survey in February, from 59 percent to 64 percent, with “very negative” ratings going from 49 percent to 54 percent. Trump is also facing a heavier onslaught of attacks from his own party than Clinton, the Democratic front-runner. The AP found just one in 33 ads dings Clinton, most coming from Republican groups. Her primary opponent, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, never mentions her by name, but his ads take oblique jabs at her for accepting Wall Street money. March has also seen a proliferation of anti-Trump advertising, according to AP’s analysis of more than 250 political advertisements on broadcast TV and national cable over the past year. Ads were classified as opposing Trump or Clinton based on whether they attacked either candidate by name or by displaying his or her photo. Conservative Solutions PAC, which backed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, painted Trump as clownish and condescending. One ad from the group plays a clip of Trump saying, “I love the poorly educated.” Our Principles also uses Trump’s words against him. One new commercial spins through news clips of violence at his rallies, and it plays a clip of the front-runner saying to a protester, “I’d like to punch him in the face.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Presidential TV ad roundup: 3/18/16 edition
As Donald Trump inches closer to securing the Republican presidential nomination, advertising money aimed at sidelining him has skyrocketed 900 percent since his first primary victory in New Hampshire — totaling more than $63 million — according to an ABC News analysis of CMAG/Kantar Media data. Nevertheless Trump remains largely unscathed, seemingly impervious to the onslaught of TV ads attacking him. And while campaign spending isn’t correlating to the same results it used to, it hasn’t stopped candidates, their Super PACs and third party groups from spending a mind-blowing $323 million spend in presidential TV ads thus far this election cycle. Here are the ads the candidates released this past week: Ted Cruz Title: Grant Published: March 17, 2016 Tone: Somber Title: Lee Published: March 17, 2016 Tone: Matter of fact Title: Born Free Published: March 4, 2016 Tone: Informative John Kasich Title: Rise Published: March 8, 2016 Tone: Friendly Title: Bringing America Back Published: March 11, 2016 Tone: Encouraging Donald Trump Title: John Kasich – All Talk No Action Politician Published: March 11, 2016 Tone: Condemnatory Hillary Clinton Title: Real life Published: March 10, 2016 Tone: Passionate Title:Mothers of the movement Published: March 11, 2016 Tone: Mournful
Email insights: Richard Shelby’s new ad highlights strong opposition to rules, regulations
Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby is running for re-election this year against a bevy of challengers hoping to unseat him in the March 1 primary. In an effort to ward off his opponents, the Shelby campaign sent out an email showcasing his latest campaign ad Tuesday morning. Titled “Agriculture,” the ad highlights his history of fighting to overturn bureaucratic regulations that hurt Alabama farmers. “Barack Obama didn’t learn too much about farming in Chicago,” says Wallace Drury, a farmer from Greensboro, Alabama, in the ad. “His bureaucrats can regulate us out of business. They want us to ask permission to deal with the water in a pond in our fields.” Here’s the full text of the email and the new ad: Shelby Ad Highlights Strong Opposition to Burdensome Rules & Regulations BIRMINGHAM, AL – Tuesday, February 16, 2016 – Senator Richard Shelby, candidate for the United States Senate, today released a new ad featuring Wallace Drury, a farmer from Greensboro, Alabama, highlighting the Senator’s strong opposition to the Obama Administration’s burdensome rules and regulations on farmers. “The Obama Administration’s assault on farmers and businesses through his EPA is unprecedented and out-of-control,” said Senator Shelby. “One example of their egregious overreach is the rule redefining ‘waters of the United States.’ The WOTUS rule is yet another land grab by this Administration, which would place control of waterways across the country in the hands of Washington bureaucrats instead of Alabama’s farmers. I will keep fighting to put an end to the EPA’s broad, unchecked regulatory power that stifles economic growth.” Watch Senator Shelby’s new ad below:
Presidential TV ad roundup: 2/12/16 edition
Since the Iowa caucuses seven candidates, six Republicans and one Democratic, have dropped out of the running in the race to the White House. But that doesn’t mean campaign ad spending is down. According to Bloomberg, “Republican presidential candidates and outside groups supporting them have already poured an estimated $24 million into political ads in South Carolina, nearly triple the amount spent on the party’s entire primary there in 2012.” Here are the ads the candidates released this past week: Jeb Bush Title: Turn off Trump Published: Feb. 2, 2016 Tone: Insulting Title: Backbone Published: Feb. 3, 2016 Tone: Resolute Title: Accomplishments Published: Feb. 5, 2016 Tone: Critical Title: Earning it Published: Feb. 6, 2016 Tone: Determined Title: Talkers vs. Leaders Published: Feb. 7, 2016 Tone: Accusing Title: No comparison Published: Feb. 8, 2016 Tone: Confident Title: Bringing it home in New Hampshire Published: Feb. 8, 2016 Tone: Enthusiastic Ted Cruz Title: Jimmy Carter: I would choose Trump Published: Feb. 4, 2016 Tone: Playful Title: Playing Trump Published: Feb. 9, 2016 Tone: Playful Title: Parking lot Published: Feb. 11, 2016 Tone: Critical Marco Rubio Title: All day Published: Feb. 7, 2016 Tone: Enthusiastic Title: Together Published: Feb. 9, 2016 Tone: Passionate Title: Together Published: Feb. 9, 2016 Tone: Passionate Donald Trump Title: Live free for die Published: Feb. 5, 2016 Tone: Complimentary Title: Drug epidemic Published: Feb. 6, 2016 Tone: Confident Title: Competent leadership Published: Feb. 8, 2016 Tone: Confident Hillary Clinton Title: I believe Published: Feb. 8, 2016 Tone: Compassionate Title: Flint Published: Feb. 8, 2016 Tone: Impassioned Title: Broken Published: Feb. 9, 2016 Tone: Resolute Bernie Sanders Title: Hillary Clinton Flip Flops On Her Values (because she has none) Published: Feb. 3, 2016 Tone: Critical
