Political ads · 2026 · NJ

New Jersey House District 4 2026: the ads, and who's paying for them

Chris Smith won · 59.0% to 41.0% · Called by AP on Nov 3

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Rachel Peace (Democrat) and Chris Smith (Republican) are the nominees for New Jersey's 4th congressional district in the November 3, 2026 general election. Chris Smith is the incumbent. By their latest FEC reports, Rachel Peace's campaign had raised $101,000 (through October 14, 2026) and Chris Smith's campaign $797,000 (through October 14, 2026). Outside groups have reported $2,000 for Rachel Peace and $0 against; $1,000 for Chris Smith and $0 against.

Rachel Peace (DEM), Chris Smith (REP, incumbent). 1 other filed with the FEC; any ads they ran are below. 0 ads analyzed, 0 with at least one technique in the copy. Newest first. The paid-for-by line is the advertiser's own filing.

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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.

Rachel Peace (DEM)

Raised: $101K through 2026-10-14 individuals $88K · PACs $6,000 · candidate's own money, incl. loans $6,712 · cash on hand $14K
Outside spending: $2,000 supporting Peace · latest reported 2026-07-01
Largest outside spenders: DCOC PAC — $2,000 supporting Peace

Bundled through PACs: none reported · FEC bulk data of 2026-11-01

All filings at the FEC ↗

Chris Smith (REP, incumbent)

Raised: $797K through 2026-10-14 individuals $506K · PACs $269K · party $2,725 · from the candidate's other committees $19K · cash on hand $553K
Outside spending: $1,060 supporting Smith · latest reported 2026-10-05
Largest outside spenders: NEW JERSEY RIGHT TO LIFE COMMITTEE FEDERAL PAC — $1,060 supporting Smith

Bundled through PACs: $25K through 1 PAC · FEC bulk data of 2026-11-01 AMERICAN ISRAEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE — $25K from 29 gifts Lobbyist/registrant PAC

71 PACs gave directly — alphabetical; the legal limit is $5,000 per election

AGC PAC $1,000
AIR LINE PILOTS ASSN. PAC $10K
ALEX SAUICKIE FOR ASSEMBLY $333
ALLIED PILOTS ASSOCIAITON PAC $5,000
ALZHEIMERS IMPACT MOVEMENT PAC $2,500
AMERICA'S ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES PAC $1,000
AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION (BANKPAC) $1,000
AMERICAN DENTAL PAC $2,500
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES PAC $8,500
AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION PAC $3,500
AMERICAN ISRAEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS PAC(AIPAC) $5,000
AMERICAN MARITIME OFFICERS VOLUNTARY POLITICAL ACTION FUND $3,000
AMERICAN OPTOMETRIC ASSOCIATION PAC $6,000
AMERICAN REVIVAL PAC $5,000
BAKER-HOSTETLER PAC $1,000
BRICKLAYERS & ALLIED CRAFTWORKERS PAC $2,500
BROTHERHOOD OF RAILROAD SIGNALMEN PAC $2,500
BUILDPAC - NATL ASSN OF HOME BUILDERS $2,000
CARPENTERS LEGISLATIVE IMPROVEMENT COMMITTEE $5,000
CHRISTINE HANLON FOR COUNTY CLERK $650
CITIZENS STRENGTHENING OUR MESSAGE IN THE HOUSE $3,500
CLIFTON FOR ASSEMBLY $500
COMMITTEE TO ELECT SUSAN COHEN FOR MANALAPAN TWP $75
DIROCCO FOR COMMISSIONER $300
DRIVE POLITICAL FUND-TEAMSTERS $5,000
DUANE MORRIS LLP GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE $1,150
ELECTING MAJORITY MAKING EFFECTIVE REPUBLICANS(EMMER PAC) $5,000
EMMER FOR CONGRESS $2,000
ENGINEERS POLITICAL EDUCATION CTTEE/INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS $10K
FRIENDS OF CLIFF STEARNS $1,000
GENWORTH FINANCIAL INC PAC $2,500
HOLZAPFEL FOR SENATE $150
HOTEL PAC $1,500
HUMANE WORLD ACTION FUND PAC $3,500
INT'L ORG OF MASTERS,MATES,& PILOTS PAC $5,000
INTER. ASSOC. OF FIRE FIGHTERS FIREPAC $5,000
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL ENGINEERS LEG EDUCATION ACTION PROGRAM PAC $1,000
KYRILLOS PAC STRONG AMERICA STRONG NJ $500
LABORERS' INTERNTIONAL UNION OF NA (LIUNA) PAC $1,000
MACHINISTS NON PARTISAN POLITICAL LEAGUE INT'L ASSN OF MACHINISTS & AEROSPACE WORKERS $5,000
MARINE ENGINEERS BENEFICAL ASSO. PAC(MEBA PAF) $2,000
MARINE ENGINEERS BENEFICAL ASSO. PAC(MEBA PAF) $2,000
MIKE JOHNSON FOR LOUSIANA $2,000
NAT'L AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSN. PAC $6,000
NATIONAL ACTIVE & RETIRED FEDERAL EMPLOYEES ASSN PAC $5,000
NATIONAL APARTMENT ASSN PAC $1,000
NATIONAL ASSN OF LETTER CARRIERS OF USA POLITICAL FUND $5,000
NATIONAL ASSN OF REALTORS PAC $5,000
NATIONAL ASSN. OF POSTAL SUPERVISORS PAC $2,500
NATIONAL ELEVATOR CONSTRUCTORS PAC $4,000
NATIONAL POSTAL MAIL HANDLERS UNION PAC $1,000
NATIONAL RURAL LETTER CARRIERS ASSN PAC $1,500
NATL BEER WHOLESALERS ASSOCIATION PAC $2,000
NEW JERSEY RIGHT TO LIFE FED. PAC $3,000
NORTH AMERICA'S BUILDING TRADES UNIONS POLITCAL EDUCATION FUND $2,000
OWEN HENRY FOR SENATE $150
PROF. AVIATION SAFETY SPECIALISTS (PASS PAC) $2,500
RAPTOR PAC $1,000
REPUBLICANS UNITED TO DEFEND YOU PAC $1,000
RGA REINSURANCE PAC $3,500
RUDY FOR INDIANA $4,000
SBA PRO-LIFE AMERICA CANDIDATE FUND $10K
SC JOHNSON & SONS $3,000
SEAN KEAN FOR ASSEMBLY $750
SHEET METAL & AC CONTRACTORS'(SMAC PAC) $5,000
SHEET METAL/AIR/RAIL/TRANSPORTATION PAC $2,500
SMART TD PAC $3,500
TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION PAC $2,500
TRANSPORTATION TRADES DEPARTMENT, AFL-CIO PAC $2,000
UA UNION PLUMBERS & PIPERFITTERS VOTE! PAC $5,000
WAKEPAC WAKEFERN FOOD CORP $2,000

All filings at the FEC ↗

No campaign ads analyzed for this race yet.

What this page is

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 NJ; or it ran mostly in NJ 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.