--- 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: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=b51350c0-207f-4d5c-893d-c8da55e69eba&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Weekdays | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Weekly | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Twice a week | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | Source: TIME, August 2026. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=b51350c0-207f-4d5c-893d-c8da55e69eba&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, 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-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=b51350c0-207f-4d5c-893d-c8da55e69eba&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (health, weekdays), Worth Your Time (culture, weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, twice weekly), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=b51350c0-207f-4d5c-893d-c8da55e69eba&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## 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. ## Transcript You know a lot of people try to tell me how to do my commercials. We see you. Between two trucks. That sounds dangerous. Hey, Mitch. What about using a talking baby? That's been done before. Well, then with you and bloodhound. That's not gonna work . >> Maybe it's enough to say Mitch fights for Kentucky. You know maybe this isn't such a bad idea. I'm Mitch McConnell and I approve of this message. [ LAUGH ] ```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"}}] ```