Ohio Gov Race Gets Ugly Over Family Drama Ad

A new attack ad just dropped in the Ohio governor race. It features the Democratic candidate's estranged mother. She disputes her daughter's story about a tough childhood. The mom says don't vote for her daughter. The ad came from Republican Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign. They spent four million dollars pushing it online and on TV.

The candidate is Amy Acton. She says her stepfather sexually abused her when she was twelve. Her mother stayed with him anyway. He got charged with rape but fled the state. He was never tried and died in 2004. Acton's brother backs up her account. He says the ad is a desperate disgusting attack.

Vice President JD Vance defended the ad Wednesday. He campaigned with Ramaswamy and Senator Jon Husted. Vance said Ramaswamy had guts to call Acton a liar. He told voters to focus on substance and facts instead. His own rise to fame came from writing about childhood neglect in Ohio.

Political experts call the move campaign malpractice. Professor David Cohen says it could backfire badly. It might push some Republicans to switch parties. Others might just stay home on Election Day. The scandal could also hurt Husted in his Senate race against Sherrod Brown.

Polls show Acton with a narrow lead right now. Ramaswamy's team calls her a serial fabulist. Her campaign calls the ad despicable and predictable. The backlash keeps building. Ohio has moved right during the Trump years. This kind of incivility might change that trajectory.