Brown Tries To Shake Up 2026 U.S. Senate Race With AI Knockout Ad

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

Granite State Republicans waiting for the U.S. Senate primary to turn into a brawl got their wish Thursday, courtesy of an AI-generated ad released by the Scott Brown campaign. The question now is whether this political punch will land hard enough to move voters away from front-runner John E. Sununu.

In the ad, a shirtless Brown enters a boxing ring with Sununu, who’s wearing a dress shirt and his 1990s-era gold-rimmed glasses.

“The ruling class has their candidate, backed by corporate boardrooms and establishment cash, but it’s still the people’s seat,” the announcer intones, as Brown and Sununu slug it out.

In the end, Brown knocks off Sununu’s glasses and knocks out his opponent.

“Even the World Economic Forum won’t save him here,” the announcer says. “You can’t lobby your way out of that one!”

The ad got Granite State political insiders buzzing as soon as it hit social media. It also garnered some national attention, with veteran political reporter Mark Halperin declaring it “a staggering work of genius.”

Several political operatives compared it to the ads former reality TV personality Spencer Pratt used to grab the spotlight in the Los Angeles mayor’s race. Brown told NHJournal the firm behind those ads had nothing to do with his AI assault on Sununu. His video is all homemade.

“I wish I could say it was my idea, but it was my wife’s,” Brown said. Gail Huff Brown was a popular television journalist in Boston who unsuccessfully sought the NH-01 GOP primary nomination in 2022.

The two of them sketched out the idea, and their social media person brought it to life.

“It’s funny, but it also points out some serious issues in the campaign,” Brown said.

“The fact that he worked for the banks, he worked for the special interests. He did advise the World Economic Forum.

“John’s got his button-down [shirt] and his fleece pants, while I’m somebody who’s more of a working-class guy. And I think the juxtaposition is important.”

Polls show Sununu with a lead of 30 points or more over Brown, and he has consistently outraised Brown as well. Is this ad enough to shake up a race that was starting to look like it’s already over?

If the Sununu camp is worried, it isn’t showing. It declined to respond to the ad.

“Judging by the reactions to the ad on his [social media] post, responding would be the definition of punching down,” a source close to the Sununu campaign told NHJournal.

Patrick Griffin, a GOP consultant who has worked on many Granite State campaigns, thinks it will hurt Brown more than help him.

“This ad is a clear indication of a candidate with nothing to lose by choosing to take the low road as low as it will go. Silly, ugly and classless. And those are the best things that can be said about it. Makes a weak candidate look even weaker!”

Several Republicans told NHJournal on background that it didn’t matter whether the ad is good or bad because “the only voters who are going to see it are people who follow Scott on social media,” as one insider said.

Not so, Brown countered.

“We put money behind it. We have money — despite what you read about our campaign,” Brown said.

“We have a budget for this race, and we’re well within our parameters. We’re fully staffed, and we just rented an office in Manchester. It’s all hands on deck!”

On Halperin’s show, a Democratic strategist called the ad “clever but sophomoric. It doesn’t seem like a New Hampshire ad.”

Tim Rice, Washington bureau chief of the conservative Daily Wire, on the other hand, was generally positive.

“I have to give it to Scott Brown. He’s never really stopped beating that Tea Party drum, right? Back in 2011, 2012, it was ‘I drive a truck.’ Now he’s leaning into AI. It’s funny!”

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.