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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 ...

From Vivek Ramaswamy's toxic Ohio ad to Ken Paxton's AI-generated spots in Texas, the 2026 midterms are now drowning in political attack ads.

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...

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.

Obama targeted GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has doubled down on an ad featuring the estranged mother of Democratic rival Dr. 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 […]

The 44th president appeared in Ohio on Saturday, kicking off a two-state swing with a rebuke of President Trump and Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee for governor.

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 fallout from Vivek Ramaswamy’s brutal spot targeting his Democratic rival in the Ohio governor’s race showed that even in the Trump era, a political attack can be seen as going too far.

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.

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.

It gets very personal as backlash against Trump policies and a divided base have put a GOP stronghold within Democrats’ reach.

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

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 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.

President Donald Trump defended a controversial campaign ad featuring the estranged mother of Ohio Democrat gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton.

In today’s issue: Democrat Amy Acton's chances of flipping the Ohio governor's race seem to have received a boost as backlash to Republican Vivek Ramaswamy's controversial ad featuring her estranged mother keeps growing. Ramaswamy has doubled down in defending the ad, which depicts Acton's birth mother, Donna Arthur, calling her daughter a "liar" and saying she needs "help" as part of a message urging...

President Trump intensified the furor over a deeply controversial political ad on Thursday, backing the decision by the GOP’s gubernatorial candidate in Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy, to run the commercial. In doing so, Trump poured fresh fuel on a bitter midterm campaign that has seen the president deride the Democratic candidate for Senate in Michigan, Abdul...