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84 ads analyzed · 45 use a rhetorical technique, most often loaded language and name calling.
The words doing the persuading
From the Huizenga side · Paid for by Huizenga for Congress“…Washington could use a little more of that thinking.
That's why I’ve fought to cut wasteful spending, championed No Budget, No Pay, and worked to make sure you keep more of your hard-earned…”Loaded LanguageSee this ad →
From the McCann side · Paid for by LCV VICTORY FUND“Bill Huizenga cut clean energy—spiking our utility bills—just to hand tax breaks to billionaires. We pay. They profit.”Loaded LanguageSee this ad →
Bill Huizenga (Republican) and Sean McCann (Democrat) are the nominees for Michigan's 4th congressional district in the November 3, 2026 general election. Bill Huizenga is the incumbent. By their latest FEC reports, Bill Huizenga's campaign had raised $5.6 million (through October 14, 2026) and Sean McCann's campaign $4.7 million (through October 14, 2026). Outside groups have reported $2.3 million for Bill Huizenga and $12.2 million against; $1.0 million for Sean McCann and $7.6 million against. Semblen has analyzed 84 ads in this race; 45 used at least one rhetorical technique, most often loaded language and name calling.
Bill Huizenga (REP, incumbent), Sean McCann (DEM).
2 others filed with the FEC; any ads they ran are below. 84 ads analyzed, 45 with at least one technique in the copy.
Newest first. The paid-for-by line is the advertiser's own filing. Updated 2026-10-30.
Also on every Michigan ballot: 2 statewide ballot measures →The ballot wording and the official arguments, read for rhetorical techniques.
How to vote in Michigan
From Michigan's official election office. Each line links to the official page it came from.
Registration
Register by Mon, Oct 19 (online/mail: received or postmarked 15 days before (Oct 19); after that, in person at local clerk with proof of residency through 8 p.m. Election Day). Same-day registration: in person at local clerk's office (not polling place) with proof of residency, in line by 8 p.m. (passed)Source: michigan.gov ↗
Early voting in person
Sat, Oct 24 to Sun, Nov 1 (mandatory period begins second Saturday before Election Day; communities may start as early as the 29th day before (Oct 5)) (passed)Source: michigan.gov ↗
By mail
Anyone can vote by mail; request a ballot by Fri, Oct 30 (online/mail: received by 5 p.m. Friday before (Oct 30); in person at clerk: 4 p.m. Monday Nov 2); return it by Tue, Nov 3 (received by clerk by 8 p.m. Election Day; military/overseas postmarked by Election Day and received within 6 days) (passed)Source: michigan.gov ↗
Checked October 6, 2026. Rules can change; confirm with the official site before you go.
Something wrong or out of date? Tell us
A person reads every report and fixes errors the same day.
Got a political text?
Paste a campaign text message you’ve received. Semblen marks the persuasion techniques in its wording and lists the factual claims it makes. Take your name out first: what you paste is analyzed and kept like any text.
Findings
As of 2026-10-30. Counts are of distinct ads; the same text run many times is one ad.
Ads analyzed
84 · started running between 2026-05-11 and 2026-10-26
$165,000–224,720 on all ads, $37,700–55,367 on flagged ads · Meta reports ranges; these are the sums of their ends
Example
“spiking our utility bills” — Loaded Language, paid for by LCV VICTORY FUND
· the flagged ad with the highest reported spend that shows the most common technique
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.
Follow Sean McCann in office
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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
Huizenga (R)
17
16 of 17 (94%)
Name Calling (13), Loaded Language (9), Appeal to Fear (6)
Huizenga's campaign
7
6 of 7
Loaded Language (4), Glittering Generalities (3), Name Calling (3)
1 group backing Huizenga
10
10 of 10 (100%)
Name Calling (10), Appeal to Fear (6), Loaded Language (5)
McCann (D)
43
16 of 43 (37%)
Loaded Language (9), Name Calling (6), Card Stacking (3)
McCann's campaign
25
11 of 25 (44%)
Loaded Language (6), Name Calling (4), Exaggeration/Hyperbole (3)
8 groups backing McCann
18
5 of 18 (28%)
Loaded Language (3), Card Stacking (2), Name Calling (2)
Not placed on a side (8 sponsors)
24
13 of 24 (54%)
Loaded Language (6), Glittering Generalities (4), Black-and-White Fallacy (3)
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 a problem. Untick the ones you'd call ordinary persuasion and the count updates.
54% of the 84 ads here use at least one of the techniques ticked below (45 ads).
Leaving out the softer ones (loaded language, glittering generalities, slogans, exaggeration, repetition): 42% 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.
socialistin 7 ads· e.g. “Sean McCann and the socialists”, “radical socialists”
tax manin 6 ads· e.g. “Tax Man Sean McCann”, “Tax Man Sean McCann and the radical socialists”
stopin 5 ads· e.g. “Stop Sean McCann and the socialists”, “stop the madness”
campaignin 3 ads· e.g. “scrubbed his campaign website of his extreme positions”, “he was pocketing nearly $60,000 in campaign cash”
healthcarein 3 ads· e.g. “gutted our healthcare”, “his extreme positions on reproductive rights, immigration, and healthcare”
positionin 3 ads· e.g. “scrubbed his campaign website of his extreme positions”, “used his position in office to get richer”
radicalin 3 ads· e.g. “radical socialists”, “Tax Man Sean McCann and the radical socialists”
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Money in this race
From FEC filings for 2025–26. Outside spending is money a group spends on its own about a candidate — TV and online ads, mail, canvassing. It is not a donation to the campaign, and the candidate does not control it. Supporting means it was spent to help that candidate win; Opposing means it was spent to defeat them, usually on attack ads. Groups report it within 24 or 48 hours as the election nears. Raised is the campaign's own fundraising, as of its latest quarterly report. Largest donors come from each outside spender's own FEC receipts, with each donor's share of its itemized receipts; donors under $100,000 are not named. People are shown with the employer and occupation they reported. A donor that is itself a political committee is shown with its own largest donors. Companies and nonprofits don't report their funders to the FEC, so the trail ends there, and the page says so.
Bill Huizenga (REP, incumbent)
Raised
$5.6M through 2026-10-14individuals $2.3M · PACs $2.1M · party $5,900 · from the candidate's other committees $1.2M · cash on hand $394K
HMP— $6.8M opposing HuizengaLargest donors:
HOUSE MAJORITY FORWARD $93.7M (39%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); Reid G Hoffman $8.5M (4%), Greylock Partners, Partner; ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FUND $5.0M (2%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); Fred Eychaner $5.0M (2%), Retired; UNITED ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ISSUES FUND $4.8M (2%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC)LCV VICTORY FUND— $1.8M opposing Huizenga
· 4 ads on this pageLargest donors:
LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS, INC. $18.0M (81%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); Amos Hostetter $600K (3%), Pilot House Associates LLC, Chairman; DEMOCRACY PAC $500K (2%); Giovanna Randall $375K (2%), Randall Apparel, Designer; Eric Laufer $375K (2%), Laufer Wind Group, Film ProducerFAIRSHAKE— $1.0M supporting HuizengaLargest donors:
RIPPLE LABS INC. $48.0M (57%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); COINBASE $25.0M (30%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); COINBASE COMMERCE (EXCHANGE) $8.2M (10%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); DIGITAL CURRENCY GROUP, INC. $1.0M (1%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); UNIVERSAL NAVIGATION INC., DBA UNISWAP LABS $1000K (1%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC)YOUR COMMUNITY PAC— $844K opposing HuizengaLargest donors:
SIXTEEN THIRTY FUND $2.7M (62%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); NORTH FUND $900K (20%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); AMERICAN OPPORTUNITY ACTION $515K (12%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS PAC $250K (6%)NO GOING BACK PAC INC.— $595K supporting Huizengaand 21 more
NO GOING BACK PAC INC.— $4.8M opposing McCannMICHIGAN CONSERVATIVE ACTION— $1.7M opposing McCannLargest donors:
SAVING LIBERTY FUND $100K (57%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC)THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER PAC— $363K opposing McCannLargest donors:
Stephen A Wynn $500K (28%), Valmore GP, Executive; John Wade $350K (19%), AES Restaurant Group LLC, CEO; Roger S Penske $250K (14%), Penske Corporation, Chairman; Craig Duchossois $250K (14%), Retired, Retired; OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM $200K (11%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC)AMERICA PAC— $312K opposing McCann
· 10 ads on this pageLargest donors:
Elon Musk $50.3M (100%), Space Exploration Technologies Corp., CEOPROGRESSIVE CHAMPIONS PAC— $257K opposing McCannLargest donors:
CONSERVATIVE AMERICANS PAC $1.6M (100%)and 23 more
88 PACs gave directly — alphabetical; the legal limit is $5,000 per election
A PLEASANT PENINSULA PAC $10K
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR JUSTICE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (AAJ PAC) $5,000
AMERICAN DEFENSE AND MILITARY PAC $2,000
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE COUNTY & MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES P E O P L E $5,000
AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB $500
AMERICAN MOSAIC PAC $1,000
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (ASA PAC) $5,000
AMERICANS MAKING OPPORTUNITIES PAC $1,000
AMERIPAC: THE FUND FOR A GREATER AMERICA $5,000
ANTHONY PAC $2,000
ASSOCIATION OF FUNDRAISING PROFESSIONALS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $1,000
BEEPAC (BUILDING ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT PAC) $2,000
BLUE MAJORITY PAC $1,000
BLUE MOMENTUM PAC $2,500
BRIDGE THE GAP PAC $1,000
BUILD AMERICA PAC $1,000
CA LUV PAC (CALIFORNIA LEADERSHIP UNITED FOR VICTORY PAC) $10K
CAROLINA VICTORY FUND $1,000
CARPENTERS LEGISLATIVE IMPROVEMENT COMMITTEE UNITED BROTHERHOOD OF CARPENTERS AND JOINERS $5,000
COMMITTEE FOR A DEMOCRATIC FUTURE $1,000
D.R.I.V.E. - DEM, REP, IND VOTER ED (THE PAC OF THE INT'L BRHD OF TEAMSTERS) $5,000
DAYNA FOR MICHIGAN $500
DEFEAT EXTREMISTS $2,000
DEFEND THE VOTE $3,500
DEMOCRACY SUMMER LEADERSHIP PAC $10K
DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY FUND $7,500
DEMOCRATS RESHAPING AMERICA (DREAMPAC) $1,000
DR KIM SCHRIER FOR CONGRESS $1,000
DURBIN BUDZINSKI FOR ILLINOIS $1,000
ELECT DEMS NOW PAC $1,000
ENDURING MAJORITY FUND $1,000
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE ACTION FUND PAC (EDAF PAC) $1,000
EQUALITY PAC $2,500
FAIR SHOT PAC $10K
FIGHT FOR PROGRESS PAC $1,000
FIGHT LIKE HELL PAC $10K
FLIP THE CONGRESS PAC $5,000
FOSTERING PROGRESS PAC $1,000
GETTING RESULTS BY ENGAGING THE GRASSROOTS PAC $1,000
GIFFORDS PAC $1,000
GREAT LAKES PAC $10K
GREEN ON TOP PAC $1,000
HMP $10K
HOPE PAC $1,000
HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN PAC $4,950
INLAND EMPIRE STRIKES PAC; THE $1,000
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SHEET METAL, AIR, RAIL AND TRANSPORTATION WORKERS POLITICAL ACTION LEAGUE $5,000
JAMIE RASKIN FOR CONGRESS $2,000
JEFFRIES FOR CONGRESS $4,000
JOBS, EDUCATION, & FAMILIES FIRST JEFF PAC $10K
JULIE ROGERS FOR STATE SENATE $100
JUSTICE LEAGUE PAC $1,000
KATHERINE CLARK FOR CONGRESS $4,000
LA BAMBA PAC $3,000
LABORERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA (LIUNA) PAC $5,000
LORI TRAHAN FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE $1,000
MACHINISTS NON PARTISAN POLITICAL LEAGUE OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS & AEROSPACE WORKERS $5,000
MAKING A DIFFERENCE PAC $1,000
MCCANN FOR MICHIGAN FUND $10K
MITTEN PAC $10K
MOTOR CITY PAC $10K
NANCY PELOSI FOR CONGRESS $2,000
NEA FUND FOR CHILDREN AND PUBLIC EDUCATION $5,000
NEW DEMOCRAT COALITION ACTION FUND $7,500
NO SURRENDER FUND $5,000
NOT SO OLD FASHIONED PAC $1,000
NRDC ACTION FUND INC PAC $1,000
PAC OF APPLES $1,000
PAC TO THE FUTURE $5,000
PETE AGUILAR FOR CONGRESS $4,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD ACTION FUND INC PAC, DBA PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERAL PAC $2,500
PROGRESSIVE TURNOUT PROJECT $5,000
REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM FOR ALL PAC $2,500
SAVE DEMOCRACY PAC $10K
SCHAKOWSKY FOR CONGRESS $1,000
SCHNEIDER FOR CONGRESS $2,000
SERVICE FIRST PAC $6,000
SHORE PAC $1,000
SILICORN VALLEY PAC $3,000
SMART TD PAC $5,000
SPIKE PAC $1,000
STRICKLAND FOR WASHINGTON $1,000
SUNFLOWER SEEDS PAC $2,000
TOMORROW PAC $1,000
UA UNION PLUMBERS & PIPEFITTERS VOTE! PAC (UNITED ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN AND APPRENTICES OF THE PLUMBING & PIPEFITTING INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA) $5,000
Glittering Generalities: Vague, positive-sounding slogan about being 'for the people' that carries no specific policy meaning.
Black-and-White Fallacy: Frames the choice as only serving the people or serving the powerful, ignoring any middle ground. Flagged: “for the people not the powerful”.
Paid for by SEAN MCCANN FOR CONGRESSfrom 2026-10-263 variantsspend $0–297200–2,097 impressions
Hi, I'm not asking for much today.
Just $10.
Here's what $10 can do in a race this close: it can put our ad in front of dozens of undecided voters. It can help us print the yard signs that get neighbors talking. And it can pay for the gas that gets our volunteers to voters’ front doors.
In a margin this tight, less than one percent, every single dollar counts. Ten dollars from you is ten dollars closer to flipping this seat and taking back the House.
So today, all I'm asking for is $10. Can you chip in today to help us in these final days?
no techniques found
Looks up the ad's factual claims in fact-checkers, primary sources and wire reporting. Takes up to a minute.
Sean McCann won. Get what Sean McCann says in office by email, analyzed for rhetorical techniques, once sworn in. And an email if the result changes: a recount or a call reversed. One-click unsubscribe.
Confirming also makes your free Semblen account, with a 14-day Pro trial. No card.
Paid for by Huizenga for Congressfrom 2026-10-262 variantsspend $0–19814,000–19,998 impressions
Southwest Michigan, Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd! It has been the honor of my life to fight for you in Washington, and I’m asking for your vote to keep delivering real results for our families, our farms, our small businesses, and our communities. Make a plan, bring a neighbor, and let’s finish strong together. 🇺🇸
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 Working Americafrom 2026-10-252 variantsspend $0–1981,100–2,998 impressions
Big companies and business groups can spend unlimited dark money on MI politics. Sean McCann wrote a bill to stop that, an idea several states are weighing.
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 Working Americafrom 2026-10-252 variantsspend $0–1982,100–3,998 impressions
Sean McCann worked across the aisle to pass a bill through the state Senate raising penalties for drivers who hit people walking, biking or working at the edge of the road.
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 MI Democrats 4th Congresional District PACfrom 2026-10-24spend $0–991,000–1,999 impressions
Mike Johnson's 119th Congress is widely considered one of the least productive in modern history based on the number of laws enacted, despite Republican control of both chambers and the White House. As of late 2026, it has passed only 110 new laws (or roughly 101–102 bills into law depending on the data source and timeframe), significantly fewer than its predecessors: the 118th Congress passed 274 laws and the 117th Congress passed 365 laws over their full terms.
This is the perfect fit for do-nothing hider Rep. Bill Huizenga. Vote for Sean McCann to fix both problems.
Name Calling: Derogatory labels are used to discredit the representative instead of addressing his record. Flagged: “do-nothing hider”.
Loaded Language: Emotionally charged, mocking wording is used to provoke contempt. Flagged: “do-nothing hider”.
Black-and-White Fallacy: It implies voting for one candidate is the only way to fix the problems, ignoring other options. Flagged: “Vote for Sean McCann to fix both problems.”.
Paid for by DEMOCRATS WORK FOR AMERICA, INCfrom 2026-10-232 variantsspend $300–49893,000–103,998 impressions
Get Out & Vote Michigan! Vote for accountability, affordability and democracy! Dr. Abdul El-Sayed for Michigan Senate, Jocelyn Benson for Michigan Governor, Hillary Scholten for MI-03, Sean McCann for MI-04, William Lawrence for MI-07, Kristen McDonald-Rivet for MI-08, Christina Hines for MI-10 and Chedrick Greene for State Senate District 35.
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 Campaign for Working Class Communitiesfrom 2026-10-23spend $0–9915,000–19,999 impressions
Bill Huizenga does not support working families when he voted in support of the Big Ugly Bill. Huizenga cut healthcare for hard working families in Michigan.
no techniques found
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 comes from a national Senate group and ran mostly in MI; or it ran mostly in MI and names a candidate — unless its sponsor is a campaign for some other office. Ads from outside groups appear alongside the campaigns' own.
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 rhetorical 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. Running a check and seeing its verdicts are part of Semblen Pro, because each check costs money to run; anyone can see which claims an ad makes. 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.