On Wednesday, a new report revealed that the GOP is reeling after internal polling found the party’s senatorial candidate in Ohio is losing by eight percentage points. According to Axios, Democratic candidate Amy Acton has widened her lead on Republican Vivek Ramaswamy dramatically after his campaign aired a personal attack ad that drew bipartisan outrage.
As Axios elaborates, “Republicans fear that Vivek Ramaswamy’s explosive attack ad featuring his opponent’s estranged mother could cost them the Ohio governor’s race, based on new internal polling that shows him falling further behind.” The outlet explains that the private poll, which was commissioned by a Republican group and obtained by Axios, revealed Acton leading Ramaswamy by eight points — a major jump from the two-point lead she had less than 10 days earlier, before the ad began airing on October 19. According to Axios, “The poll’s findings underscore Republicans’ anxiety over Ramaswamy’s decision to air the deeply personal attack on Democrat Amy Acton despite warnings from some fellow Republicans that it crossed a line.”
A memo attached to the poll warns that the ad “is having a significant effect on the gubernatorial race.” The ad – now infamous for featuring Acton’s estranged mother calling her a liar, only for the public to quickly learn her mother had fled decades earlier with her sexually abusive stepfather – had already drawn criticism from some Republicans before the poll, though notably, both President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance backed the ad, with the latter saying critics should “stop whining.” The new polling, however, has Republicans worried that “backlash” over the ad could also hurt Senator Jon Husted’s (R-OH) reelection bid in a state that could determine control of the Senate. As a result, insiders are pointing fingers.
“The candidate is the one pushing for it,” a source close to the campaign said. “This was not planned. But Vivek got what he wanted. I probably wouldn’t have run it.” According to another GOP operative, “Vivek’s ad put the whole Republican ticket on defense. He better hope Ohio doesn’t decide the Senate majority.” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R), who worked closely with Acton when she was the state’s health director, said that airing the ad was wrong and urged Ramaswamy to stop airing it.
But Trump didn’t agree, responding to DeWine’s assertion that the ad should be taken down by posting, “He strongly suggested that Vivek should, ‘take down the Ad.’ He probably wants a Dumocrat to win, and certainly doesn’t want someone who will do a much better job than he is capable of doing.” The president asserted, “Who wouldn’t use such an Ad? I would, it’s called, ‘hitting pay dirt.’”