# Vivek Ramaswamy's Ad Sparks Senate Race Fallout > Ohio GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's ad featuring Amy Acton's birth mother could backfire on his race and Senate control. - Title: Vivek Ramaswamy's Ad Sparks Senate Race Fallout | Shortify - Summary: Ohio GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's ad featuring Amy Acton's birth mother could backfire on his race and Senate control. Vivek Ramaswamy's ad showing Amy… - Keywords: vivek ramaswamy, amy acton, ohio governor, senate race, dems, republicans, midterms, campaign ad, political fallout, Vivek, Ramaswamy's, Sparks - Source: Slate Magazine — https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/10/vivek-ramaswamy-amy-acton-ohio-governor-senate.html?via=rss - Author: Jim Newell - Published: 2026-10-24T09:45:08+00:00 - Read time: 1 min - Topics: vivek ramaswamy, amy acton, ohio governor, senate race, dems, republicans, midterms, campaign ad, political fallout ## Vivek Ramaswamy's Ad Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy aired an ad featuring Amy Acton's birth mother calling her a liar. > the ad features Acton’s birth mother, with whom Acton has been estranged since she was 12, calling her daughter a liar ## Ad Backfire Risk The ad could backfire on Ramaswamy, who lacks charisma and voters dislike ads attacking candidates over childhood sexual abuse. > voters of all stripes generally don’t like ads in which someone is attacked over her history of being sexually abused as a child ## Ohio Senate Race The Ohio Senate race is pivotal for Democratic Senate majorities and costs over $500 million to win. > it’s pivotal, as most if not all paths to a Democratic Senate majority run through Ohio ## Republican Response Ohio Republicans, including Gov. Mike DeWine and Secretary of State Frank LaRose, condemned Ramaswamy’s ad as inappropriate. > grandfatherly Gov. Mike DeWine said it was wrong to run this ad and urged Ramaswamy to take it down ## Jon Husted's Stance Sen. Jon Husted vowed not to run Ramaswamy’s ad, despite his own Senate race challenges. > Husted said he would not have run that ad ## Alaska Senate Race Alaska’s Senate race involves two 'Dans' and a potential DOJ lawsuit over voter confusion. > the Alaska Supreme Court allowed both Dans to stay on the ballot ## Democrat Unpopularity Democrats face low voter satisfaction but may still win due to Republican unpopularity. > just 28 percent of voters said they were satisfied with the Democratic Party ## Wedgewood Polls Scandal Wedgewood Polls, a fake outfit, was busted for making up numbers that may have skewed races. > the outfit then tried to cover it up by deeming itself a social experiment examining how purported polling information could enter and spread through the political information ecosystem ## Mississippi Senate Race Senate Democrats’ super PAC invested in Mississippi to boost Democrat Scott Colom against Cindy Hyde-Smith. > Senate Democrats’ super PAC announced an investment there to boost Democrat Scott Colom against GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith ## Alaska Timing Alaska’s Senate results won’t be certified until November 18 due to ranked-choice voting. > the state won’t tabulate final results until nov. 18 ## Trump DOJ Involvement Trump’s Justice Department sued to block Alaska Senate certification if voter confusion occurs. > the Trump Justice Department filed a lawsuit this week in Alaska federal court seeking to block the state from certifying any result that may be impacted by voter confusion ## Democratic Party Image 43 percent of Democrats are dissatisfied with their party due to 2024 election performance. > 43 percent of Democrats said they were dissatisfied with their own party ## Senate Race Impact Ramaswamy’s ad could cost Husted the Senate race and Republican Senate majority. > if Ramaswamy’s ad, aside from nuking his own campaign, were to bring Husted down another point or two ## What Happens Next Ramaswamy’s ad may backfire on his race and Ohio Senate control as midterms approach. > this week’s signature unpleasantness ## Key takeaway Vivek Ramaswamy's ad showing Amy Acton's birth mother calling her a liar may hurt his gubernatorial campaign and Ohio Senate race.