Alabama Governor 2026: the ads, and who's paying for them
Tommy Tuberville (Republican) and Doug Jones (Democrat) are the candidates for governor of Alabama in the November 3, 2026 general election. Semblen has analyzed 42 ads in this race; 27 used at least one manipulation technique, most often loaded language and name calling.
27 of 41 (66%) flagged · Loaded Language (22), Name Calling (17), Appeal to Prejudice (13)
YouTube
0 of 1 flagged
Reported Meta spend
$85,500–108,283 on all ads, $54,500–68,131 on flagged ads · Meta reports ranges; these are the sums of their ends
Example
“spreading lies” — Loaded Language, paid for by Doug For Alabama
· the flagged ad with the highest reported spend that shows the most common technique
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A small box with these findings and the newest ads, updated as new ads are analyzed. Free for newsrooms, blogs and campaigns alike; it links back here.
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An email when new ads come in from either side or the outside groups: the techniques, the words doing the work, and who paid. And each debate's analysis the morning after. One-click unsubscribe.
Each side is the campaign plus the groups backing it. How a group is placed is explained below the table.
Side
Ads
With at least one technique
Most common
Tuberville (R)
31
22 of 31 (71%)
Loaded Language (18), Name Calling (13), Appeal to Prejudice (11)
Tuberville's campaign
5
5 of 5
Loaded Language (4), Appeal to Prejudice (3), Black-and-White Fallacy (3)
1 group backing Tuberville
26
17 of 26 (65%)
Loaded Language (14), Name Calling (11), Appeal to Fear (8)
Jones (D)
6
2 of 6
Loaded Language (2), Appeal to Fear (1), False Urgency (1)
All from the campaign; no ads here from groups placed on this side.
Not placed on a side (2 sponsors)
5
3 of 5
Name Calling (3), Appeal to Prejudice (2), Loaded Language (2)
Read this before comparing the sides. Ads that attack an opponent use these techniques far more often than ads that introduce a candidate, whoever runs them, so the side running more attack ads shows a higher share. A technique is about wording, not about whether an ad is true. These are online ads only (Meta and YouTube), not television.
How a group is placed: by its own filings with the Federal Election Commission. A group is with a candidate when it reported spending to support that candidate, or to oppose the other one in the general election. The parties' own committees are with their nominee. Spending against a candidate in a primary places a group nowhere, and neither does our reading of its ads: a group with no such filing is listed as not placed. The sponsor table gives the reason for each.
Decide what counts
Not everyone would call every technique manipulation. Untick the ones you'd call ordinary persuasion and the count updates.
64% of the 42 ads here use at least one of the techniques ticked below (27 ads).
Leaving out the softer ones (loaded language, glittering generalities, slogans, exaggeration, repetition): 64% of ads.
The words doing the work
The words that show up most in phrases our model flagged as loaded language or name calling in this race's ads, by number of ads.
liesin 4 ads· e.g. “Tommy's lies”, “lies about supporting veterans”
governmentin 3 ads· e.g. “make big government bigger”, “expand government control over your health care”
socialistin 3 ads· e.g. “Democrat Socialists”, “socialists”
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Money in this race
Candidates for governor report their fundraising to Alabama's state campaign-finance office, not the FEC. This page doesn't cover those reports yet, so it shows no money figures.
The ads
42 ads, newest first. Video transcripts are shown as the model read them, without caption cues like [music].
Showing the 6 ads paid for by Doug For Alabama. Show all 42 ads
New Doug Jones Ad: Broken Promises
Paid for by Doug for Alabamavideo · 0:30from 2026-10-08
A promise broken. Listen to Tommy Tuberville. I stand with her veterans and I'm going to donate every dime I make while I'm in Washington DC to the veterans of the state of Alabama.
Tommy Tuberville made nearly $1 million in Washington. But instead of keeping his promise, he voted to cut veterans benefits, held up promotions of our military officers. And the money he promised, he invested in AI tech companies for himself.
Tommy will be fine. Our veterans, not a dime.
no techniques found
Looks up the ad's factual claims in fact-checkers, primary sources and wire reporting. Takes up to a minute.
Watch on YouTube ↗Transcript above is auto-generated; the analysis is of the spoken words.
Paid for by Doug For Alabamafrom 2026-09-227 variantsspend $600–1,29322,300–32,993 impressions
I can’t stand fundraising.
But it’s got to be done. In order to be competitive, we need to mobilize a grassroots fundraising campaign to invest time in every precinct in Alabama. There’s no other way around it.
However, I know people are willing to contribute to change Alabama for the better. I’m thrilled about the grassroots movement for change we are building, but we’ll need resources to do it. I hope you can chip in whatever you can today to help us win in November. >>
no techniques found
Looks up the ad's factual claims in fact-checkers, primary sources and wire reporting. Takes up to a minute.
Paid for by Doug For Alabamafrom 2026-09-228 variantsspend $12,800–15,592362,100–439,992 impressions
I hate doing this s***, but I have to ask for a contribution to my campaign. I hate begging for money, but it’s the only way to fuel our grassroots movement and reach every precinct in Alabama.
If you are wanting to change Alabama, no matter where you are, then please chip in what you can today >>
no techniques found
Looks up the ad's factual claims in fact-checkers, primary sources and wire reporting. Takes up to a minute.
An email when new ads come in from either side or the outside groups: the techniques, the words doing the work, and who paid. And each debate's analysis the morning after. One-click unsubscribe.
Paid for by Doug For Alabamafrom 2026-09-228 variantsspend $2,500–3,69270,200–89,992 impressions
This is about you.
It’s Doug Jones, and we need to start investing in a grassroots movement to mobilize and reach voters in every precinct in Alabama. If we want to build a better future for our state, we must first build our momentum from the bottom-up and the middle-out.
I hope you will join us by chipping in whatever you can to our campaign today >>
no techniques found
Looks up the ad's factual claims in fact-checkers, primary sources and wire reporting. Takes up to a minute.
Paid for by Doug For Alabamafrom 2026-08-25 to 2026-09-098 variantsspend $900–1,69225,700–36,992 impressions
Everywhere we go, people are ready for change. But I need your help to win.
Tommy Tuberville has $8 million in the bank. He’s going to use it to flood the airwaves with lies to defeat me.
So I hate doing this, but I’m asking if you’ll donate to my campaign for governor so I can have the resources I need to win. I really need your help.
Can I count on you?
Paid for by Doug For Alabamafrom 2026-08-25 to 2026-09-178 variantsspend $9,500–11,192240,100–300,992 impressions
Folks, it’s Doug Jones. We can and will win this race. Democratic turnout is surging around the country and especially right here in Alabama. We truly have a generational opportunity in November.
But Tommy Tuberville has more money in the bank than us and is ready to spend big spreading lies about me. I need your help to fight back.
Can you contribute any amount today to help me finish this campaign strong?
Loaded Language: The phrase 'spreading lies' is emotionally charged language designed to discredit the opponent rather than address specific claims — for example: spreading lies
Appeal to Fear: The framing that the opponent has more money and is 'ready to spend big' creates anxiety about being outgunned and overwhelmed — for example: ready to spend big spreading lies about me
False Urgency: The call to 'fight back' implies an immediate need for action to counter the threat described in the previous sentence, creating artificial urgency — for example: I need your help to fight back
Loaded Language
Appeal to Fear
False Urgency
Looks up the ad's factual claims in fact-checkers, primary sources and wire reporting. Takes up to a minute.
An ad is on this page because its own "Paid for by" line is a campaign in this race; or it ran mostly in AL and names a nominee for governor — unless its sponsor is a campaign for some other office (a U.S. Senate or House campaign included), or it also names AL's Senate nominees, in which case it is on the Senate race's page. Ads from outside groups appear alongside the campaigns' own.
The candidates are the ones certified for the November ballot, from the source linked at the top. Governors are state offices, so there are no FEC filings behind this page: no money figures, and outside groups are placed on a side only when they are a campaign or a party committee.
Campaigns run one text as many separate ads. Identical text from the same sponsor is one card here, marked with its number of variants.
A technique is a specific manipulative move in the wording, found by our model and explained in one line. It is not a claim that the ad is false.
Claims are checked when a reader asks: press "Check this ad's claims" on a card. The check runs once and its result is shown to everyone afterwards. The ten ads with the most money behind them in each race are checked ahead of time.
Claim verdicts say what the cited sources say. A verdict that an ad is wrong or misleading is shown only when it cites an established fact-checker or an institutional record — Congress, a federal agency, a court — and its confidence is not low; a weaker one is not shown at all. Each verdict shows what it rests on and how confident it is. If we got one wrong, press Disagree: a verdict that readers dispute and no one defends comes down.
Video ads come from the campaigns' own YouTube channels; the transcript is analyzed. Meta ads are analyzed on their text; their video and images are not, yet.
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