Political ads · 2026 · TN

Tennessee House District 2 2026: the ads, and who's paying for them

Tim Burchett won · 57.7% to 41.2% · Called by AP on Nov 3

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Michaela Barnett (Democrat) and Tim Burchett (Republican) are the nominees for Tennessee's 2nd congressional district in the November 3, 2026 general election. Tim Burchett is the incumbent. By their latest FEC reports, Michaela Barnett's campaign had raised $718,000 (through October 14, 2026) and Tim Burchett's campaign $3.1 million (through October 14, 2026). Outside groups have reported $10 for Michaela Barnett and $0 against.

Michaela Barnett (DEM), Tim Burchett (REP, incumbent). 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.

Also on every Tennessee ballot: 3 statewide ballot measures → The ballot wording and the official arguments, read for rhetorical techniques.

How to vote in Tennessee

From Tennessee's official election office. Each line links to the official page it came from.

Registration	Register by Mon, Oct 5 (30 days before the election; mail forms must be postmarked by then) (passed)Source: sos.tn.gov ↗Source: sos.tn.gov ↗
Early voting in person	Wed, Oct 14 to Thu, Oct 29 (In person; hours and locations set by county election commission) (passed)Source: sos.tn.gov ↗
By mail	Mail voting needs a reason the state accepts (Reasons include being out of county, student, age 60+, illness/disability, candidate, CDL work, permanent absentee list); request a ballot by Sat, Oct 24 (Request must be received by county election commission); return it by Tue, Nov 3 (Received by close of polls (8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT); by mail only, no hand delivery) (passed)Source: sos.tn.gov ↗Source: sos.tn.gov ↗
Election Day	Tue, Nov 3. Polls: Opening varies by county; all polls close 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT (passed)Source: sos.tn.gov ↗
ID at the polls	Photo ID required: TN or federal government-issued photo ID (expired OK); no student IDsSource: sos.tn.gov ↗

Check your registration and polling place ↗ Tennessee's official election site ↗

Checked October 8, 2026. Rules can change; confirm with the official site before you go.

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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.

Michaela Barnett (DEM)

Raised: $718K through 2026-10-14 individuals $702K · PACs $2,600 · party $1,200 · candidate's own money, incl. loans $6,415 · cash on hand $130K
Outside spending: $10 supporting Barnett · latest reported 2026-08-10
Largest outside spenders: SIERRA CLUB INDEPENDENT ACTION — $10 supporting Barnett

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

1 PAC gave directly — alphabetical; the legal limit is $5,000 per election

BRADDOCK FOR HOUSE $250

All filings at the FEC ↗

Tim Burchett (REP, incumbent)

Raised: $3.1M through 2026-10-14 individuals $2.8M · PACs $260K · from the candidate's other committees $19K · cash on hand $914K
Outside spending: none reported

Bundled through PACs: $16K through 2 PACs · FEC bulk data of 2026-11-01 AMERICAN ISRAEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE — $16K from 16 gifts Lobbyist/registrant PAC JOHN L LOEB JR — $104 from 1 gift

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

AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION PAC $1,000
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $1,000
ALLIED PILOTS ASSOCIATION PAC $2,500
AMERICAN AIRLINES INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (AAPAC) $1,000
AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION PAC (BANKPAC) $2,500
AMERICAN CONCRETE PAVEMENT ASSOCIATION PAC (ACPA) $2,000
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES (ACEC/PAC) $2,500
AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION PAC $1,000
AMERICAN ISRAEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $7,025
AMERICAN SHORT LINE & REGIONAL RR ASSOC PAC $6,000
AMERICAN STAFFING ASSOCIATION STAFFING PAC $5,000
AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS-PAC $1,000
ANIMAL WELLNESS ACTION PAC $4,000
ARCONIC CORPORATION EMPLOYEES' VOLUNTARY PAC $1,500
ASSOCIATED BUILDERS AND CONTRACTORS, INC. PAC (ABC PAC) $2,500
ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN RAILROADS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (RAILPAC) $1,000
BAPS PUBLIC AFFAIRS, INC. PAC (BAPS PAC) $5,000
BLUEPAC - BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATION PAC $2,500
BNSF RAILWAY COMPANY RAILPAC (BNSF RAILPAC) $5,000
CITIZENS UNITED POLITICAL VICTORY FUND $1,000
COHERUS BIOSCIENCES $3,000
CSX CORPORATION GOOD GOVERNMENT FUND $2,000
DAVID ROUZER FOR CONGRESS $2,000
DELTA AIR LINES POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $2,500
DUNCAN FOR CONGRESS $1,000
FEDEX CORPORATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (FEDEXPAC) $2,500
HOUSE CONSERVATIVES FUND $2,000
INDEPENDENT PILOTS ASSOCIATION PAC $1,000
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS INTERESTED IN REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION PAC $1,000
LABORERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA (LIUNA) PAC $2,500
LEAN FORWARD AMERICA FUND $3,500
NATIONAL APARTMENT ASSOCIATION PAC $3,000
NATIONAL ASPHALT PAVEMENT ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (NAPA-PAC) $1,000
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME BUILDERS $3,000
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $5,000
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TRAILER MANUFACTURERS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITEE $1,000
NATIONAL COTTON COUNCIL OF AMERICA COMMITTEE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COTTON $2,500
NATIONAL HEALTH CORPORATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $4,000
NATIONAL MARINE MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION AND MARINE RETAILERS ASSOCIATION BOAT POLITICAL $1,000
NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA POLITICAL VICTORY FUND $1,000
NATIONAL SHOOTING SPORTS FOUNDATION, INC. PAC (NSSF PAC) $1,000
NETJETS INC. PAC $1,000
NEXT GENERATION PAC $500
NJASAP PAC $5,500
NORFOLK SOUTHERN CORPORATION GOOD GOVERNMENT FUND $4,000
PITNEY BOWES INC PAC $4,000
RAPTOR PAC $1,000
RED STATE PAC $1,000
REPUBLICANS UNITED TO DEFEND YOU PAC $1,000
RUDY FOR INDIANA $4,000
SENATE EAGLE PAC $5,000
SMART TD PAC $3,000
SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP. PAC $5,000
TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (TOYOTA/LEXUS PAC) $3,000
TRUCKING POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN TRUCKING ASSOCIATIONS INC. $1,000
UNION PACIFIC CORPORATION FUND FOR EFFECTIVE GOVERNMENT $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 TN; or it ran mostly in TN 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.