In an effort to capitalize on voter concerns about self-serving politicians, Republican and Democratic candidates are increasingly campaigning on banning stock trading by members of Congress.
Across the country, candidates are running ads pledging to root out corruption in D.C. by pushing bills to ban insider trading. While legislative efforts to ban members and their families from trading stock have stalled, the campaign ads aren’t letting up.
Per an AdImpact analysis, there have been nine candidates and outside groups that have aired broadcast spots focused on stock trading in 2026. Six were for Democrats, and three were for Republicans.
Consider two of the most tracked Senate races in the country: Ohio and Georgia. In Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown launched a TV spot earlier this week where he notes that “last year, members of Congress made more than $635 million in stock trades.”
“Members of Congress and their spouses should be banned from trading stocks,” Brown declares.
In Georgia, GOP Senate hopeful Derek Dooley — who’s in a runoff against Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) — ran an ad where he says “D.C. politicians focus on getting rich” and pledges to “ban stock trading” for lawmakers.
Stock trading is also a hot topic on the airwaves in competitive House primaries. In Nebraska’s 2nd District, both the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC and Democrat John Cavanaugh ran ads touting that Cavanaugh would ban stock trading if elected.
In New Jersey’s 12th District, successful Democratic candidate Adam Hamawy ran an ad where he says he has a “clear prescription” for Congress’ problems: “ban congressional stock trading.”
Hawkeye State. The stock trading issue was particularly salient during our swing through Iowa last week, where scores of candidates brought it up unprompted.
“I’m fighting to ban stock trading in Congress,” said Rep. Ashley Hinson, the GOP nominee for Senate, in her first campaign ad.
Iowa Democrats find Hinson’s stance disingenuous, noting she didn’t sign onto Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s (R-Fla.) stock trading ban discharge petition. Hinson signed on to the Stop Insider Trading Act, a bill with 91 Republican and two Democratic cosponsors.
Hinson’s opponent, Democrat Josh Turek, is also pushing a stock trading ban.
“She’s someone that is now, in her time in D.C., 10 times more wealthy than when she went,” Turek said. Per Hinson’s financial disclosures, she entered Congress in 2020 with a net worth of between $560,000 and $1.7 million. As of her 2024 report, Hinson had a net worth of between $2 million and $8 million. Hinson doesn’t trade individual stocks.
During a post-campaign event gaggle, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) singled out a ban on members trading stocks as a top policy she wanted to pass.
