Campaigns
America's most vulnerable Republican opened her reelection campaign with an unboxing video
Yello
“To kick off her campaign for a sixth term on Tuesday, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) unboxed a new pair of New Balance 990s sneakers to make a pun and announce some news.”
Democrat candidate running against NY Rep. Mike Lawler seeks votes on Tinder
New York Post
“The Tinder pitch has been a hit, he said, landing 3,000 potential matches for meet-ups with the campaign.”
How 2026 Texas primary candidates are using AI in ads
Texas Tribune
“Cornyn has posted several AI-generated images portraying Democrats like state Rep. James Talarico of Austin and former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke. In a series of AI-generated images and videos, Talarico, who is running for U.S. Senate, is transformed into ‘Taxula,’ a fanged, vampiric caricature dressed in a suit, clutching a ‘Tax Bill’ with distorted, AI-warped fingers.”
Social Media
The political effects of X’s feed algorithm
Nature
“Switching from a chronological to an algorithmic feed increased engagement and shifted political opinion towards more conservative positions, particularly regarding policy priorities, perceptions of criminal investigations into Donald Trump and views on the war in Ukraine.”
Technology
A tech group is launching a new effort to keep Democrats from falling behind on AI
Politico
“Each experiment is expected to take between two weeks and two months and cost between $50,000 and $150,000. Tech for Campaigns is inviting organizations to apply, and is hoping to conduct around 20 experiments this year. The results will be shared among Democrats widely, with the goal of more campaigns replicating tactics that work and avoiding those that don’t.”
AI Chatbots Are Reshaping Political Persuasion
AEI
“In these studies, chatbots were most persuasive when they engaged users in calm, evidence-oriented dialogue that acknowledged concerns and connected arguments to broadly shared values.”