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Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is defending his campaign’s controversial advertisement featuring the estranged mother of Democratic rival Amy Acton. Appearing Monday on “Fox & Friends,” Ramaswamy showed no signs of backing away from the ad, which features Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, calling her daughter a liar and disputing her account of a difficult ...

The 2026 midterms have taken a deeply personal turn as campaigns use other people's family tragedies as political ammunition — sometimes over the objections of the families themselves. Why it matters: Some attack ads feature photographs of murdered children and anguished 911 calls, forcing grieving families to relive their worst moments. Georgia governor race: Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson used images of murdered 8-year-old Secoriea Turner and her mother's anguished 911 call to attack Democratic rival Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta's former mayor. Turner's family demanded the ads come down, accusing the campaign of exploiting their grief without permission. Jackson said he would keep airing them . Ohio governor race: Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign is spending $4 million on an ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton. In the ad, Donna Arthur calls her daughter a liar and disputes her account of childhood homelessness. Acton says her late stepfather — who was married to her mother until his death — sexually abused her as a child, and she hasn't spoken to her mother in decades. Acton's brother corroborated her account , while court records and contemporary news reports support key details. President Trump urged Ramaswamy to keep running his attack on Acton, despite objections from some fellow Republicans. Between the lines: Ramaswamy's campaign said the ad tested well with persuadable voters , even as critics warned it could backfire. Ohio Senate race: A Republican attack ad against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown featured images of a couple and their 1-year-old son killed in a highway crash to blame Brown's immigration policies. The victims' family demanded its removal , saying nobody sought permission to use their relatives' images or tragedy. North Carolina Senate race: A Republican super PAC featured a grieving father in an attack ad linking the murder of his 23-year-old son to former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's prison policies. The father said he felt deceived about the ad's purpose. The group disputes his account, while fact-checkers found no connection between the killer and Cooper's prisoner-release agreement. Yes, but: Some survivors willingly share their trauma to challenge politicians' decisions. In Nebraska, Jody Snogren voluntarily appeared in an ad attacking Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts for his 2022 vote to pardon John Arias, who pleaded guilty to raping her. Snogren told The 19th she chose to tell her story to inform voters and had no regrets. Ricketts expressed sympathy for Snogren but defended the pardon , noting Arias had served his full sentence and the pardon came decades after the crime.

Ohio Democrat gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton wins the Cleveland Plain Dealer endorsement on Sunday after the newspaper decided earlier this year it would not be endorsing candidates in the state's toss-up gubernatorial and Senate elections. “Vivek Ramaswamy, seeking the highest office in this state, has produced a campaign advertisement that weaponizes the sexual abuse his...

Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci on Sunday compared Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (R) to the pig characters in the George Orwell novel "Animal Farm" and predicted that the candidate will lose to opponent Amy Acton (D). "Vivek Ramswamy has disgraced himself," Scaramucci wrote on the social platform X. "Ramaswamy started with soaring...

If Ramaswamy goes down, Trump will spin it that Democrats and the corrupt media misrepresented the ad and lied about Ramaswamy.

Ohio Democratic Amy Acton spoke to ABC News after a rally in Cleveland with former President Barack Obama.

Former President Barack Obama took aim at gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has doubled down on an advertising campaign featuring the estranged mother of Democratic rival Amy Acton.

CLEVELAND — Former President Barack Obama excoriated Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy for his attack ad with Democratic opponent Amy Acton’s estranged mother during his first rally of the 2026 midterm election cycle in Cleveland. “There is no line he will not cross, no low he will not sink to, to try to get […]

An ad released by Ohio's Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has drawn bipartisan backlash. Olivia Gazis has more.

An ad released by Ohio's Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has drawn bipartisan backlash. Olivia Gazis has more.

Republican commentator Scott Jennings took a swipe at Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (R) for using a controversial campaign ad featuring his opponent’s estranged mother. The ad, which Ramaswamy’s campaign is now spending $4 million to broadcast statewide, features Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, accusing Acton of being a “liar” her whole...

The attack ad featuring Amy Acton’s estranged mother shows how “outrage marketing" is shaping modern elections.

Election forecaster Cook Political Report shifted Ohio’s gubernatorial race toward Democratic candidate Amy Acton on Friday after a week of backlash over an ad Republican Vivek Ramaswamy ran featuring her estranged mother. The outlet shifted the race between Ramaswamy and Acton from a “Toss-Up” to “Leans Democrat.” “The trajectory of Vivek Ramaswamy’s odds in the […]

Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is defending the ad featuring his opponent Amy Acton’s estranged mother despite backlash from both parties. NBC News’ Priscilla Thompson explains.

The Cook Political Report on Friday moved Ohio's gubernatorial race from "Toss Up" to "Lean Democrat," saying Republican Vivek Ramaswamy's attack ad featuring Democrat Amy Acton's estranged mother reinforced signs that the race was moving in Acton's direction.

President Trump on Friday doubled down on his support for Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's attack ad against Amy Acton featuring Acton's estranged mother. Mr. Trump also headed to the Sunshine State to campaign for Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds. CBS News' Cristian Benavides and Ed O'Keefe have more.

The Cook Political Report is shifting a closely watched gubernatorial contest toward Democrats after a controversial campaign ad shook up the race. The nonpartisan election forecaster moved the governor’s race in Ohio from “toss up” to “lean Democrat,” now favoring Amy Acton (D) to beat Vivek Ramaswamy (R) in the Buckeye State. The race was...

"It's a mother speaking badly against Amy Acton," Trump said.

Republican Vivek Ramaswamy on Friday defended his campaign's ad featuring the estranged mother of Democratic rival Dr. Amy Acton in the closely watched race for Ohio governor.

President Donald Trump doubled down Friday on his support of a widely condemned attack ad against Democratic Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton

Speaking at a campaign stop, Ramaswamy said the advertisement, which features Acton's mother calling her "a liar," had nothing to do with childhood abuse.

Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy released a controversial attack ad featuring opponent Amy Acton's mother. President Trump repeatedly defended the ad, despite bipartisan backlash. CBS News' Weijia Jiang reports, plus Ed O'Keefe takes a look at other midterm elections to watch.

President Donald Trump stepped up his support for a controversial ad featuring the estranged mother of Ohio’s Democratic candidate for governor, Amy Acton, despite intensifying Republican opposition to the campaign spot.

President Trump engaged in a vigorous back-and-forth Friday with NBC reporter Monica Alba after tripling down on the Ohio governor’s race ad featuring Democratic nominee Amy Acton’s estranged mother calling her a liar. Reporters asked Trump about fellow Republicans denouncing the ad that was created by Vivek Ramaswamy, the GOP candidate for Ohio governor. “But...

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have both defended Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy after his campaign released a TV ad that appears to accuse Democratic nominee Amy Acton of lying about being sexually abused as a child. Acton’s stepfather was indicted in 1978 on charges of sexually assaulting her when she was between 10 and 12 years old, though he fled before he could be convicted. Acton’s mother, who lost custody of her two children, sided with her husband and remained with him as a fugitive until his death in 2004. In the controversial campaign ad, the elderly Donna Arthur says her daughter Amy has “lied her entire life” and can’t be trusted as governor, which has been widely interpreted as casting doubt on what Acton has said about being abused as a minor. “Vivek Ramaswamy is now using that personal trauma as an effort to exploit what she went through and win this race,” says Abby Vesoulis, a reporter for Mother Jones . “He’s currently polling beneath Amy Acton, which shows, I think, that this ad is a desperate attempt to somehow pull off a victory despite poor odds.” Vesoulis says outrage over the ad, even among Republican voters, is tied to simmering anger about how the Trump administration has handled the Epstein files. She also discusses abuse allegations against Ohio Republican Congressmember Max Miller, who is running for reelection.