2026-10-28 · contested story

How the Most Ruthless Ad of the Midterms Divided Republicans - The New York Times

In the final weeks of the 2026 midterms, Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy released a $4 million ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Dr. Amy Acton, in which the mother, Donna Arthur, calls Acton 'a liar' and urges Ohioans not to vote for her. The ad omitted the painful backstory: Acton was removed from Arthur's custody at age 12 after her stepfather, Cledith Arthur, was indicted for raping her, and Arthur stayed married to the stepfather and fled the state with him. The ad provoked fierce bipartisan backlash, with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Sen. Jon Husted, and multiple former governors condemning it, while President Trump and Vice President JD Vance defended it — Vance telling Republicans to 'stop whining' and Trump calling it 'hitting pay dirt.' The story became a flashpoint that exposed a fracture within the GOP over hardline, personal-attack tactics versus traditional restraint, set against a broader backdrop of Republicans trailing badly heading into the midterms.

How each side frames it

left
"the ad released on Tuesday by a super PAC connected to Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy (and later endorsed by the candidate himself) is the most despicable in American political history"
"There are low blows, and then there are rock-bottom blows. The latest attack ad in the Ohio governor's race is undoubtedly the latter."
"His real allegation is that by being the type of person who rape happens to, Acton – and, by extension, many of the rest of us – are foreclosed from worthiness for authority."
"the poison of Trump and his choirboys is spreading even as Trump himself is losing influence"
"The campaign is being funded by some of Ohio's and the nation's most powerful corporations and executives."
center
"According to police and court documents obtained by The Associated Press, Cledith Arthur was arrested and charged with the rape of his stepdaughter, then 12, in July 1978"
"Sources close to Ramaswamy's campaign said the ad tested well with 'persuadable' voters, prompting the decision to launch a $4 million statewide campaign"
"'We've lost the plot,' says one Republican strategist. 'We had a real good chance and then we do this two weeks out.' Adds a second: 'We now deserve to lose this race.'"
"Some leading Ohio Republicans began distancing themselves from a controversial new ad from their gubernatorial nominee, Vivek Ramaswamy, even as the president and vice president defended it."
"The influential Cook Political Report, which had previously ranked the contest a toss-up, on Friday moved it to 'Lean D.'"
right
"Ohio Democrat Amy Acton's estranged mother was convicted in a disturbing animal-neglect case after newborn kittens were found trapped in a sweltering car"
"A staggering act of bad taste"
"The economic environment has not been good. Voters are dissatisfied with their Republican majority and the base is also dissatisfied"
"Democrats have no doubt hindered their chances at a sweeping victory in the 2026 midterms by nominating some dingbats."
"GOP candidates in key Senate races have not bothered to tell voters about their opponents' hostility to Medicare Advantage."

What each side left out

The right left out — covered by the Zeteo & The Daily Beast & HuffPost
The right left out — covered by the AP News & The 19th News & WOSU Public Media
The left left out — covered by the New York Post & WKRC
The left left out — covered by the The Boston Globe & Los Angeles Times
The center left out — covered by the The Guardian & The New Republic
The center left out — covered by the Common Dreams

What's actually true?

[verified] Ramaswamy's campaign confirmed it produced the ad and committed $4 million to air it statewide.
[verified] Acton's stepfather Cledith Arthur was arrested and charged in July 1978 with raping Acton when she was 12, then fled the state and died in 2004 without facing trial.
[verified] National Review published reporting that court records corroborate Acton's account of childhood abuse.
[verified] Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine condemned the ad as 'deeply, deeply troubling' and urged Ramaswamy to take it down, while continuing to endorse him.
[verified] JD Vance said he was 'disgusted' by Republicans 'whining' about the ad and told them to 'stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days.'
[verified] Trump called getting Acton's mother on camera 'hitting pay dirt' and urged Ramaswamy to keep the ad running.
[verified] The Cook Political Report moved the Ohio governor's race from 'toss-up' to 'Lean D' amid the ad backlash.
[verified] The Cleveland Plain Dealer reversed its longstanding no-endorsement policy to endorse Acton specifically because of the ad.

The narrative clash

Whether the ad will backfire or help Ramaswamy
Left: I'll bet an Ohio buckeye the final count isn't far outside that margin, with no sign of a massive drop in Republican support of Ramaswamy, despite all the posturing and hand-wringing.
Right: Sources close to Ramaswamy's campaign said the ad tested well with 'persuadable' voters
Whether the ad was about sexual abuse or merely about lying
Left: The ad features the mother of Ramaswamy's Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, calling her daughter a liar... It not only weaponizes an opponent's trauma but adds a partisan sheen to her allegations of abuse
Right: Our ad had nothing, nothing to do with childhood abuse, sexual abuse... We condemn that as forcefully as anyone. Our ad was about a consistent track record of Amy Acton telling lies
Whether Trump's rally blitz helps Republicans
Left: Despite this sad history, so far the president has spent almost all of October on the road... Trump's travel itinerary and rhetoric are squarely aimed at juicing turnout among his loyalists, not at persuading swing voters.
Right: when Trump is on the ballot, as he likes to point out, Republicans tend to overperform the polls. And when he's not on the ballot, they tend to do worse or roughly the same as what the polls are predicting.

109 sources analyzed

The Daily Beast CNN The Day Boston Herald National Review Vox PBS C-SPAN Reason The Daily Signal Salon Semafor EL PAÍS English Boston Herald National Review Vox CNN McSweeney’s Internet Tendency Investor's Business Daily The Federalist Salon The Washington Post MS NOW New York Post The Daily Signal The Boston Globe NBC News Slate Investor's Business Daily City Journal The Daily Beast CNN CBS News Reason Fox News The American Prospect Washington Monthly Mezha.net Boston Herald National Review The New Republic Los Angeles Times Raw Story Reason The Federalist Mother Jones CNN Time Magazine Boston Herald The Federalist The Daily Beast NPR Breakingthenews.net Reason City Journal The New Republic Deadline WKMG Investor's Business Daily National Review The Daily Beast Al Jazeera Axios Washington Examiner The Boston Globe CNN The Statehouse News Bureau The Federalist The New Republic The Guardian News 5 Cleveland WEWS National Review The Boston Globe CBC Toledo Blade City Journal Vox AP News City Journal The Daily Beast Punchbowl News The Daily Signal Vox Yahoo News Singapore The Spectator World Daily Kos KOMO The New Republic The 19th News The New Republic Financial Times The Bulwark FOX One The Boston Globe Zeteo MSNBC BBC Salon CNBC Common Dreams WKRC Salon WOSU Public Media MSNBC The Rooster | D.J. Byrnes HuffPost WXLV The Boston Globe The Independent

Perspectivity reads the coverage — not just who published it.

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