--- title: These Hail Mary Ads Show What Desperate Candidates Will Try description: Just before an election, the losing candidate will often try for a Hail Mary pass with a desperate ad. Here are some recent attempts canonical: https://time.com/3548388/hail-mary-political-campaign-ads/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-30T17:54:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:05:27.473Z article:section: Politics og:title: These Hail Mary Ads Show What Desperate Candidates Will Try og:description: Just before an election, the losing candidate will often try for a Hail Mary pass with a desperate ad. Here are some recent attempts og:url: https://time.com/3548388/hail-mary-political-campaign-ads/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: These Hail Mary Ads Show What Desperate Candidates Will Try twitter:description: Just before an election, the losing candidate will often try for a Hail Mary pass with a desperate ad. Here are some recent attempts twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # These Hail Mary Ads Show What Desperate Candidates Will Try > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=d3ea2c9a-edad-40a8-aaba-73495982a9a4&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 85,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 37.0% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * D.C. Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=d3ea2c9a-edad-40a8-aaba-73495982a9a4&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=d3ea2c9a-edad-40a8-aaba-73495982a9a4&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Commercials [Watch (HLS stream): Commercials](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/OXyZzwQK.m3u8) (0:32)  _Published 2014-10-30. Commercials_  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Oct 30, 2014 5:54 PM UTC  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Oct 30, 2014 5:54 PM UTC There’s a certain type of campaign ad that candidates hope they’ll never have to run. It typically airs in the final days before the elections, when the polls aren’t looking good and they decide to try for a Hail Mary pass to shake things up. With the midterm elections just days away, these ads are surfacing now. Here’s a look at four long balls thrown by despairing candidates. As the Texas gubernatorial race has slipped through her fingers, Democrat Wendy Davis reached for a new attack against Republican Greg Abbott. In a move that caused voters and pundits alike to shake their heads, she decided to criticize Abbott — who has used a wheelchair since a 1984 accident left him paralyzed — for not supporting the disabled. Tom Corbett, the Republican governor of Pennsylvania, has long been the most likely incumbent to go down to defeat on Tuesday. So with the sense of a man with nothing to lose, he released an ad attacking Democrat Tom Wolf for supporting a hike in the income tax. That’s a pretty standard hit, but the visuals — chainsaws, demonic twins and evil clowns — are anything but routine. In Virginia, Republican Ed Gillespie may have taken the Hail Mary metaphor literally. In a recent ad, he linked Democratic Senator Mark Warner to a recent push to force the Washington Redskins football team to change its name. The real chutzpah of the ad, though, comes when Gillespie argues that the fight, which Warner has mostly sat out, is a distraction from the real issues. Not every Hail Mary ad is thrown by a candidate. In the Colorado Senate race between Democratic Senator Mark Udall and Republican Cory Gardner, NARAL Pro-Choice America tried a last-minute turnaround by arguing that a Gardner win would lead to the outlawing of birth control and a run on condoms. And then there’s whatever the opposite of a Hail Mary pass is. (A screen pass?) Republican Senator Mitch McConnell is clearly feeling like he’s going to defeat Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes on Tuesday or he wouldn’t have spent valuable ad money and time on a goofy ad where he giggles and plays with puppies. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3548388/hail-mary-political-campaign-ads/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3548388/hail-mary-political-campaign-ads/"},"headline":"These Hail Mary Ads Show What Desperate Candidates Will Try","datePublished":"2014-10-30T17:54:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:05:27.473Z","description":"When candidates are headed for defeat, they put out some desperate ads","url":"https://time.com/3548388/hail-mary-political-campaign-ads/","keywords":["Election 2014","Senate","democrat","governor","Republican"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/election-2014/","name":"Election 2014"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3548388/hail-mary-political-campaign-ads/","name":"These Hail Mary Ads Show What Desperate Candidates Will Try"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Wendy Davis","description":"Wendy Davis","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/SQhjy4Te/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-10-30T15:10:40.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SQhjy4Te.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3548388/hail-mary-political-campaign-ads/","duration":"PT32S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3548388/hail-mary-political-campaign-ads/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Scary Movie","description":"Scary Movie","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/LEzT5eC6/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-10-30T15:09:52.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/LEzT5eC6.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3548388/hail-mary-political-campaign-ads/","duration":"PT31S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3548388/hail-mary-political-campaign-ads/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Ed Gillespie: I'll Oppose the Anti-Redskins Bill","description":"Ed Gillespie: I'll Oppose the Anti-Redskins Bill","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/rVj273TM/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-10-30T15:07:34.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/rVj273TM.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3548388/hail-mary-political-campaign-ads/","duration":"PT30S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3548388/hail-mary-political-campaign-ads/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Cory Gardner","description":"Cory Gardner","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/NIjPX0dG/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-10-30T15:06:40.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/NIjPX0dG.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3548388/hail-mary-political-campaign-ads/","duration":"PT30S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3548388/hail-mary-political-campaign-ads/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Commercials","description":"Commercials","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/OXyZzwQK/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-10-30T15:05:59.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/OXyZzwQK.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3548388/hail-mary-political-campaign-ads/","duration":"PT32S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3548388/hail-mary-political-campaign-ads/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```