Political ads · 2026 · TN

Tennessee House District 9 2026: the ads, and who's paying for them

Brent Taylor won · 49.6% to 48.5% · Called by AP on Nov 5

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Justin Pearson (Democrat) and Brent Taylor (Republican) are the nominees for Tennessee's 9th congressional district in the November 3, 2026 general election. By their latest FEC reports, Justin Pearson's campaign had raised $4.0 million (through October 14, 2026) and Brent Taylor's campaign $2.8 million (through October 14, 2026). Outside groups have reported $1.8 million for Justin Pearson and $1.1 million against; $963,000 for Brent Taylor and $1.9 million against.

Justin Pearson (DEM), Brent Taylor (REP). 6 others 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.

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.

Justin Pearson (DEM)

Raised: $4.0M through 2026-10-14 individuals $3.9M · PACs $139K · party $200 · candidate's own money, incl. loans $392 · cash on hand $746K
Outside spending: $1.1M opposing Pearson · $1.8M supporting Pearson · latest reported 2026-11-01
Largest outside spenders: READY FOR THE FIGHT — $1.2M supporting Pearson CONSERVATIVES FOR AMERICAN EXCELLENCE INC. — $983K opposing Pearson Largest donors: CONSERVATIVE AMERICANS PAC $8.3M (49%); Kenneth Griffin $3.0M (18%), Citadel, Founder & CEO; Paul Singer $1.9M (11%), Elliott Investment Management, CO-CEO & President; FRIENDS OF JOE GRUTERS $1.2M (7%); ARDLEIGH IMPACT CORP. $750K (4%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC) BLACK VOTERS MATTER ACTION PAC — $140K supporting Pearson Largest donors: BLACK VOTERS MATTER FUND $280K (96%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC) WORKING FAMILIES PARTY PAC — $117K supporting Pearson Largest donors: DEMOCRACY PAC $6.5M (32%); MOVEMENT VOTER PAC $2.2M (11%); ACCOUNTABLE JUSTICE ACTION FUND $2.0M (10%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); Patty Ann Quillin $650K (3%), NOT Employed, NOT Employed; JORDAN/DELANEY FAMILY TRUST $450K (2%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC) TENNESSEE RISE PAC — $100K supporting Pearson Largest donors: Steve Phillips $100K (24%), Self Employed, Attorney and 13 more

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

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

BUILDING BLUE $5,000
DEMOCRACY SUMMER 2026 PAC $2,000
ENGAGE Y'ALL PAC $5,000
FIG AND OLIVE ACTION PAC $1,644
JANE FONDA CLIMATE PAC $5,000
JUSTICE DEMOCRATS PAC $5,000
LEADERS WE DESERVE $5,000
MAXWELL FROST FOR CONGRESS $2,000
ROOTED & READY PAC $2,000
SUNRISE PAC $50

All filings at the FEC ↗

Brent Taylor (REP)

Raised: $2.8M through 2026-10-14 individuals $968K · PACs $320K · candidate's own money, incl. loans $1.5M · cash on hand $524K
Outside spending: $1.9M opposing Taylor · $963K supporting Taylor · latest reported 2026-10-29
Largest outside spenders: READY FOR THE FIGHT — $1.3M opposing Taylor THREE STAR PAC — $479K opposing Taylor CONSERVATIVES FOR AMERICAN EXCELLENCE INC. — $468K supporting Taylor Largest donors: CONSERVATIVE AMERICANS PAC $8.3M (49%); Kenneth Griffin $3.0M (18%), Citadel, Founder & CEO; Paul Singer $1.9M (11%), Elliott Investment Management, CO-CEO & President; FRIENDS OF JOE GRUTERS $1.2M (7%); ARDLEIGH IMPACT CORP. $750K (4%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC) CIVIC RENEWAL FUND INC. — $377K supporting Taylor WORKING FAMILIES PARTY PAC — $80K opposing Taylor Largest donors: DEMOCRACY PAC $6.5M (32%); MOVEMENT VOTER PAC $2.2M (11%); ACCOUNTABLE JUSTICE ACTION FUND $2.0M (10%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); Patty Ann Quillin $650K (3%), NOT Employed, NOT Employed; JORDAN/DELANEY FAMILY TRUST $450K (2%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC) and 5 more

Bundled through PACs: $6,500 through 1 PAC · FEC bulk data of 2026-11-01 AMERICAN ISRAEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE — $6,500 from 3 gifts Lobbyist/registrant PAC

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

AUTOZONE INC COMMITTEE FOR BETTER GOVERNMENT $1,000
BECPAC $1,000
BEVERLY K BURGER CAMPAIGN FUND FOR ALDERMAN $1,000
BILL POWERS FOR TN $1,500
BUCKEYE LIBERTY PAC $5,000
COMMITTEE TO ELECT MARK BILLINGSLEY $1,000
CONCERNED CONSTITUTIONAL CONSERVATIVES PAC $1,000
DGD PAC $1,000
DIANA FOR CONGRESS $2,000
ED JACKSON STATE SENATE $2,500
ELECTING MAJORITY MAKING EFFECTIVE REPUBLICANS PAC $5,000
EMMER FOR CONGRESS $2,000
FEDEX CORPORATION PAC $5,000
FRIENDS OF STEVE SCALISE FOR CONGRESS $2,000
HIGGINBOTHAM INSURANCE AGENCY, INC. PAC $2,500
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS INTERESTED IN REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION PAC $2,500
JASON SMITH FOR CONGRESS $4,000
JIM JORDAN FOR CONGRESS $2,000
JOHN STEVENS FOR STATE SENATE $1,000
KENNETH J BURGER CAMPAIGN FUND $300
NATIONAL HEALTH CORPORATION PAC $1,000
PBW - PAC $500
RAPTOR PAC $5,000
REPUBLICAN MAINSTREET PARTNERSHIP PAC $5,000
SENATE EAGLE PAC $5,000
SERVICE CORPORATION INTERNATIONAL PAC $3,500
SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP. PAC $10K
TENNESSEE BANKERS ASSOCIATION FEDERAL PAC $2,000
TENNESSEE MALT BEVERAGE ASSOCIATION FEDERAL PAC $1,000
TENNESSEE PROFESSIONAL FIRE FIGHTERS ASSOCIATION PAC $1,000
THE EYE OF THE TIGER PAC $5,000

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.