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74 ads analyzed · 20 use a rhetorical technique, most often loaded language and name calling.
The words doing the persuading
From the Berman side · Paid for by Mitchell Berman for Congress“…I never thought I'd run for office, but I'm running for Congress because I'm sick of the corrupt career politicians in Washington who are enriching themselves and their big donors at the expense of…”Loaded LanguageSee this ad →
From the Steil side · Paid for by TEA PARTY PATRIOTS CITIZENS FUND“They called Ronald Reagan reckless for standing up to socialism. He was right. He warned that freedom is never more than one generation away from…”Loaded LanguageSee this ad →
Mitchell Berman (Democrat) and Bryan Steil (Republican) are the nominees for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district in the November 3, 2026 general election. Bryan Steil is the incumbent. By their latest FEC reports, Mitchell Berman's campaign had raised $2.0 million (through October 14, 2026) and Bryan Steil's campaign $6.4 million (through October 14, 2026). Outside groups have reported $1.6 million for Mitchell Berman and $2.6 million against; $4.0 million for Bryan Steil and $6.0 million against. Semblen has analyzed 74 ads in this race; 20 used at least one rhetorical technique, most often name calling and loaded language.
Mitchell Berman (DEM), Bryan Steil (REP, incumbent).
5 others filed with the FEC; any ads they ran are below. 74 ads analyzed, 20 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 Wisconsin ballot: 3 statewide ballot measures →The ballot wording and the official arguments, read for rhetorical techniques.
How to vote in Wisconsin
From Wisconsin's official election office. Each line links to the official page it came from.
Registration
Register by Wed, Oct 14 (Online/mail: 20 days before. In person at clerk until Friday before (Oct 30), or at polls on Election Day). Same-day registration: Proof of residence required (passed)Source: elections.wi.gov ↗
Early voting in person
Varies by county; check your county’s schedule (In-person absentee; each municipal clerk sets its schedule, starting up to 14 days before the election)Source: elections.wi.gov ↗
By mail
Anyone can vote by mail; request a ballot by Thu, Oct 29 (Received by municipal clerk by 5 p.m. on the 5th day before the election (online or mail)); return it by Tue, Nov 3 (Received by 8 p.m. on Election Day; postmarks do not count) (passed)Source: elections.wi.gov ↗Source: elections.wi.gov ↗
Checked October 8, 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.
Where they stand
From each campaign's own website, summarised in plain English, with a quote where they gave one; under an issue, Senate votes for those who have cast them. Full detail and sources on each profile: Mitchell Berman · Bryan Steil.
Economy and cost of livingBerman: stated · Steil: stated
Mitchell Berman (DEM)
Berman says he wants to raise the federal minimum wage, crack down on grocery price increases, rent-price fixing and hidden junk fees, and lower child care costs. He also says he would expand housing tax credits and down payment help, roll back tariffs on building materials, and bar private equity from buying single-family homes.
“Raise the federal minimum wage so that working a full time job can support a family”
Steil says he wants to lower costs by cutting wasteful government spending, expanding American energy production and reducing regulations. He says he wants to keep government off small businesses and maintain tax and regulatory relief.
Taxes and government spendingBerman: stated · Steil: stated
Mitchell Berman (DEM)
Berman says he wants to expand the child tax credit and end tax breaks for data centers. He also says he would stop subsidizing corporations that move jobs overseas and lift the Social Security cap so high earners pay on all their income.
Steil says Washington has a spending problem and Congress must restore fiscal responsibility. He voted for the Limit, Save, Grow Act, which raises the debt ceiling for one year while limiting federal spending, and says he wants to maintain tax relief.
“Washington has a spending problem and we must act to restore fiscal responsibility.”
Berman says he would restore the Affordable Care Act subsidies, reverse the Medicaid cuts in the "Big Beautiful Bill", and create a public option. He also says he would cap out-of-pocket prescription costs, make $35 insulin available to everyone, let Medicare negotiate prices on more drugs, and require faster insurer answers on prior authorization.
“Create a public option so families have a real choice and insurers have to compete on price”
Steil says he opposes federal bureaucrats dictating individual health care decisions and wants patients and doctors making them, to lower costs and widen affordable options. He says he is working to lower prescription drug prices and supports access to IVF.
Social Security and MedicareBerman: stated · Steil: stated
Mitchell Berman (DEM)
Berman says he would block cuts to Social Security, defend workers' pensions, and lift the cap so high earners pay in on all of their income. He also says he would raise the number of drugs Medicare can negotiate each year.
“I'll block cuts to Social Security, defend workers’ pensions, and lift the cap so high earners pay in on all of their income.”
Steil says he is committed to protecting Social Security and Medicare and supports policies to keep them solvent for future generations. He also says he is working to lower prescription drug prices for seniors.
Immigration and the borderBerman: no position · Steil: stated
Mitchell Berman (DEM)
No stated position on their website.
Bryan Steil (REP, incumbent)
Steil says he wants to secure the border and stop the flow of illicit fentanyl and human trafficking, and works with local law enforcement on this. He voted for the Secure the Border Act.
Berman says he wants to protect reproductive freedom and a woman's right to reproductive health care, and says politicians should not come between a woman and her doctor. He also says he would fund rural maternity care and fix Medicaid rates so hospitals keep labor and delivery units open.
“Politicians should not be getting in between a woman and her doctor.”
Berman says he would invest in clean energy and a more resilient grid, clean up PFAS, protect Lake Michigan and drinking water, and make polluters pay. He says data centers should pay their own way, including power plant and transmission costs, so those costs stay off household bills, and that he would protect public lands from drilling, mining and logging.
“Climate change is real, and it is affecting our weather, farming, and ecosystems here in Wisconsin.”
Steil says he wants to unleash American energy to lower costs, and he voted for the Lower Energy Costs Act. He supports building the Keystone XL pipeline and opposes the Green New Deal. He says protecting the environment and jobs can go together, and he backs legislation to protect the Great Lakes.
“We can protect our environment and protect jobs at the same time.”
Steil says he strongly supports Second Amendment rights and is a gun owner. He says he will support the right to bear arms for all law-abiding citizens and will watch for legislation that could infringe on it.
Crime and policingBerman: no position · Steil: stated
Mitchell Berman (DEM)
No stated position on their website.
Bryan Steil (REP, incumbent)
Steil says he supports law enforcement and opposes defunding the police, and he works with local police to keep communities safe. He is leading an effort in Congress to expose the financing of human trafficking.
Berman says he would fully fund public schools, restore the value of Pell Grants, and invest in technical and vocational training. He also says he would protect the Department of Education from efforts to dismantle it and expand apprenticeships and skilled trades.
Steil says education decisions are best made locally, and he wants parents to have access, transparency and choices in their children's education. He also says he wants schools focused on preparing workers for future jobs, and he opposes Biden's student debt cancellation.
Foreign policy and defenseBerman: stated · Steil: stated
Mitchell Berman (DEM)
Berman says Congress should uphold its duty to decide when the country goes to war, and that the war in Iran should end. He also says he would push back on privatizing veterans' care, invest in VA staffing, and pass the Richard Star Act.
Steil says the country needs a comprehensive national security strategy and that service members must have the training, resources and equipment to counter threats from Iran, Russia, China and cybercriminals. He has urged enforcing sanctions on Iran and introduced legislation to hold Iran accountable and keep it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Elections and ethics in governmentBerman: stated · Steil: stated
Mitchell Berman (DEM)
Berman says he does not take corporate PAC money and wants to end dark money and require disclosure of election funders. He also says he would ban stock trading by members of Congress, the president and vice president, close the revolving door to lobbying, and hold Supreme Court Justices to the same ethics rules as everyone else.
“Pass a real ban on stock trading by members of Congress, the president, and the vice president.”
Steil, who chairs the Committee on House Administration, says he wants elections that are free, fair and secure. He opposes H.R. 1, supports the SAVE Act to prevent noncitizen voting, and introduced legislation to ban congressional stock trading.
“American elections are for American citizens only”
Something wrong or missing? Each profile has an Accurate? button under every issue; a person reads every note.
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
74 · started running between 2026-05-25 and 2026-10-26
$93,100–131,028 on all ads, $67,300–91,446 on flagged ads · Meta reports ranges; these are the sums of their ends
Example
“corrupt career politicians” — Loaded Language, paid for by Mitchell Berman for Congress
· 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 Mitchell Berman in office
Mitchell Berman won. Get what Mitchell Berman 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.
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Appeal to Fear (4), Exaggeration/Hyperbole (3), Glittering Generalities (3)
Not placed on a side (12 sponsors)
21
7 of 21 (33%)
Name Calling (4), Loaded Language (3), Appeal to Prejudice (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 a problem. Untick the ones you'd call ordinary persuasion and the count updates.
27% of the 74 ads here use at least one of the techniques ticked below (20 ads).
Leaving out the softer ones (loaded language, glittering generalities, slogans, exaggeration, repetition): 16% of ads.
Semblen is free to read and has no ads. If this page was useful, you can support it.
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.
NO GOING BACK PAC INC.— $1.5M opposing BermanPROGRESSIVE TURNOUT PROJECT— $960K supporting BermanLargest donors:
STOP REPUBLICANS $6.1M (22%) (its largest donors: FAHEY, EILEEN $2.7M; PROGRESSIVE TURNOUT PROJECT $2.5M); LAWALL, JOY $6.0M (22%); PROGRESSIVE TAKEOVER $3.5M (13%) (its largest donors: EVEY, JULIE $1.4M); STOP THESE OPPRESSIVE PEOPLE: TYRANTS RACISTS UNQUALIFIEDS MISOGYNISTS PROPAGANDISTS (STOP TRUMP) $3.0M (11%) (its largest donors: JOHNSTON, ERIC $1.3M); DEM TURNOUT 2024 $2.1M (8%) (its largest donors: KITCHEN, CAROL $1.2M)WISCONSIN WORKING PAC— $525K opposing BermanLargest donors:
FORIS DAX INC. $515K (91%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC)SOMOS PAC— $299K supporting BermanLargest donors:
ELEVATE AMERICA $3.0M (52%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); ADVOCACY ACTION FUND INC. $2.0M (35%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); FORWARD ACTION FUND $468K (8%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); WELLNESS ADVOCACY FUND $250K (4%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC)AMERICANS 4 SECURITY PAC— $190K opposing BermanLargest donors:
AMERICANS 4 SECURITY INC $2.5M (71%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); Paul B Hofer III $150K (4%), Retired, Retired; HERMEUS CORP $100K (3%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); Alexander Caedmon Karp $100K (3%), Palantir, CEO; Steven Mendell $100K (3%), HEI Hotels, Ownerand 15 more
Bundled through PACs
none reported · FEC bulk data of 2026-11-01
6 PACs gave directly — alphabetical; the legal limit is $5,000 per election
HMP— $4.6M opposing SteilLargest 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)FAIRSHAKE— $1.0M supporting SteilLargest 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)AMERICAN MAJORITY ACTION PAC— $1.0M supporting SteilLargest donors:
RESTORATION OF AMERICA PAC $6.8M (100%)314 ACTION FUND— $1.0M opposing SteilLargest donors:
Michael Bloomberg $6.4M (38%), Bloomberg LP, Executive; 314 ACTION $4.6M (28%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); MARTIN, JAMES W $2.1M (13%); KIMBARK FOUNDATION $500K (3%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); PETERSON SOLUTIONS FUND $285K (2%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC)NO GOING BACK PAC INC.— $694K supporting Steiland 14 more
Paid for by CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP FUNDfrom 2026-10-26spend $300–39915,000–19,999 impressions
Liberal Mitchell Berman. The harder you work, the more the government takes.
Liberal Mitchell Berman. Higher taxes on Seniors. Higher taxes on working families.
Liberal Mitchell Berman. Endless freebies for illegals.
Liberal Mitchell Berman. You’ll work harder so others don’t have to.
Name Calling: Labels a named person with a political label ('Liberal') to discredit him rather than address any argument.
Exaggeration/Hyperbole: Overstates taxation as an absolute rule that more work always means proportionally more taken by government. Flagged: “The harder you work, the more the government takes.”.
Loaded Language: Uses the dismissive, charged terms 'freebies' and 'illegals' to provoke resentment instead of describing policy.
Appeal to Prejudice: Uses the dehumanising label 'illegals' to stir distrust of immigrants as a group.
Scapegoating: Implies that unnamed others are freeloading at the expense of hard workers, framing a broad economic problem as caused by a group, without specifying any actual policy or action. Flagged: “You’ll work harder so others don’t have to.”.
Exaggeration/Hyperbole: Absolute claim that he has 'only' looked out for himself overstates beyond evidence.
Card Stacking: Juxtaposes his net worth growth with ordinary people's struggles, implying causation while omitting context. Flagged: “doubled his net worth while the rest of us struggle to get by”.
Mitchell Berman won. Get what Mitchell Berman 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 STEIL FOR WISCONSIN, INC.from 2026-10-26spend $0–99100–999 impressions
Rock County is moving to the right thanks to the hard work of passionate volunteers.
Great joining families at the Butterfly Club in Beloit tonight to help win this November!
no techniques found
Looks up the ad's factual claims in fact-checkers, primary sources and wire reporting. Takes up to a minute.
Glittering Generalities: Vague, positive pledge to 'put communities and families first' with no specific policy content. Flagged: “put Wisconsin communities and families first”.
Paid for by STEIL FOR WISCONSIN, INC.from 2026-10-26spend $0–990–99 impressions
Chatted with Speedo and the team at Speedo's Harborside Cafe in Lake Geneva.
No tax on tips is helping make life more affordable for their 40+ employees!
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 STEIL FOR WISCONSIN, INC.from 2026-10-24spend $0–99100–999 impressions
Awesome behind-the-scenes tour with Julia at Tailwinds Brewing in Union Grove!
Great seeing Cary Madrigal for Racine County Sheriff and Steve Wicklund for State Assembly there, too!
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 WI; or it ran mostly in WI 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.