… In an election cycle filled with despicable ads run by Republicans, Vivek Ramaswamy just may have launched the worst of them all this morning against Amy Acton, his Democratic opponent in the OH governor’s race. The ad featured Acton’s estranged mother telling voters this:
“I love my daughter but when I saw her lying about her opponent - it’s not easy for a mother to say this. But Amy has a serious problem. She is a liar. She says she grew up in a tent. None of that is true.”
… The ad was immediately condemned by people in both parties once they learned the full backstory. Acton released this statement from her brother condemning the ad:
… Acton has shared the story of her terrible childhood for many years, and how she overcame it to become a doctor and the former director of the OH Dept of Health. She said her mother constantly introduced a rotating “cast of characters” into her life who were her mother’s boyfriends, which included the man who became her stepfather despite previous “accusations of molestation events in his past.”
… Acton’s stepfather was criminally charged with sexually abusing her while she was between the ages of 9 and 12. At the time of the arrest, Acton said her family had been living in a tent at a campground, despite it being winter. Her mother and stepfather skipped town while he was out on bond, her father got custody of her and her brother, and Acton says she has not spoken to her mother since then.
… Veteran Republican strategist Liz Mair:
“This is a terrible ad that is going to remind people of that one family member who hates them for no rational reason at all and make them feel sympathetic towards Acton. I know when I watched it, I was like ‘egads, if I ever ran for office, I know my opponent could find at least 3 family members who would cut an ad like this and all 3 of those people are people I consider to be deeply psychologically unwell, petty, spiteful, and generally wrong on most things and not credible.
In brief, it pushed me towards Acton, not away from her. And this is genuinely the only thing I’ve seen or read about Acton to make me think anything positive of her (previously, she was just a blank slate for me, whereas Vivek was a very annoying person who I think can do maths and attract business to OH).”
… Republican podcaster Mary Katharine Ham: “It seems crazy to me one would assume this would work and not backfire. An estranged mom from a rough childhood going straight to camera to trash her daughter as a trustworthy messenger?”
… WI Young Republican president and Turning Point Rep. Brady Penfield: “My parents are Democrats and if the Democrats ever lobbied them to run attack ads against me, if I were running for office, it would be inexcusable and disgusting. Honor thy father and mother should also apply to honoring thy daughter and son no matter their politics. I’m disappointed in Vivek’s team for green lighting this ad.”
… Conservative columnist Robby Soave: “This is sick stuff. Amy Acton's enemies are trotting out her estranged and allegedly abusive mother to malign her. If anything, I feel more sympathetic to Amy Acton after watching this. I suspect I'm not alone!”
… OH State Rep. Allison Russo (D):
“I’ve watched this ad, and it is among the most vile political attacks I’ve ever seen. Millions of adults from all walks of life are estranged from a parent, often because of childhood abuse and trauma that are far too common in our society. Exploiting that deeply personal pain for political gain is cruel, shameful, and deserving of unequivocal condemnation.
Vivek Ramaswamy and his campaign should be held accountable for this despicable attack. It says far more about their desperation and lack of character than it ever could about Amy Acton. A basic sense of decency and a moral compass should be the bare minimum qualifications for public office.”
… Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH): “Vivek’s ad with Amy Acton’s mother is one of the most despicable things I’ve ever seen in politics. He’s arguably the most unlikable person in the history of people - because of stuff like this. By the end of the day, Ohioans will learn what happen to Amy as a 12-year old girl, how her mother lost custody of Amy as a result, and what a disgrace Vivek is for pulling this.”
… Politico reporter Jonathan Martin: “Notable the spot comes when Vivek’s image was 37/53 in new Marist poll. Which takes real work when you’ve never even been in office.”
… Pollster Natalie Jackson: “This is absolutely disgusting and the act of a desperate campaign. This woman lost custody of her kids because her husband abused Amy. How anyone can look at that and say, ‘let's put her on air,’ is beyond me. Every consultant and operative who worked on or paid for this should be permanently out of politics.”
… Democratic strategist Matt Royer: “Yeah I don't know if the mother that Amy Acton has been estranged from since she lost custody when Amy was 12 because she was a danger to her kids, sent them on a bus by themselves across state lines as children with no steady housing, and married a child molester who abused Amy and sided with him over her own daughter is the slam dunk you think it is here. But it does go with the general pedophile protector status that the Right has gained.”
… New Marist poll on OH:
US Senate
🟦Sherrod Brown 48%
🟥Jon Husted 44%
—
Ohio Governor
🟦Amy Acton 50%
🟥Vivek Ramaswamy 43%
… Decision Desk HQ made this ratings change today in the OH governor’s race:
Toss-up —> Lean Democratic.
… James Talarico released two new ads that were excellent. This was one:
“Ken Paxton says I don’t have his experience, and he’s right. I’ve never been indicted for fraud. I’ve never been reported to the FBI for bribery. I’ve never been impeached by my own party, and I’ve never given a sweetheart deal to a pedophile. I have a different kind of experience, I’ve worked with both parties to cap the price of insulin and pass the largest property tax cut in TX history.”
… Vivek Ramaswamy, Ken Paxton, Mike Collins, Roger Marshall, on and on - everywhere you look the most despicable humans financed by a handful of billionaires and elevated by Trump want you to give them even more political power to serve their interests at your expense.
… CNN pollster Harry Enten: “Trump’s net approval rating - its an all time low! -35 points, the worst he has ever been in the Reuters/Ipsos poll. Among independents he’s 54 points underwater! NBC poll - worst ever. ABC - worst ever. Ipsos - worst ever for a president right before a midterm election. Pew - worst ever. It is a 5-alarm Trump fire for Republicans in the midterms!”
… Fox chief political analyst Brit Hume:
“The president has been out campaigning vigorously, but I’m not sure it’s making any difference and what difference it would make I’m not sure is helping. In TX, he is calling James Talarico ‘Tala-freak-o.’ He is not a freak. You see him. He seems mild mannered and pleasant and not an unattractive candidate.”
“This cuddling up to Vladimir Putin at this moment - I don’t think that plays well. The American public can’t stand Putin. And this fiasco with the press secretary…”
… Reuters: “The last time the state of KS sent a Democrat to the US Senate, the Great Depression was ravaging the state, wheat prices had collapsed and drought was turning the Great Plains into the Dust Bowl. Some 94 years later, Kansas may do it again.
… Opinion polls show Democratic candidate Adam Hamilton, a megachurch pastor, running neck and neck with or ahead of Sen. Roger Marshall in a state that Trump won in 2024 with more than 57% of the vote. The unexpectedly competitive race reflects strains in the Republican heartland, where Democrats are betting that soaring farm costs, including near-record-high diesel, and discontent with Trump’s immigration crackdown can revive the region’s progressive populist tradition.
… Fuel and fertilizer prices have shot up dramatically since the war started, with diesel used to power farm equipment up 70% since the war began. Those rising costs have reverberated in states like KS, IA and NE, where agriculture dominates local economies.
… In IA, opinion polls show Republican Ashley Hinson in a tight Senate race with Democrat Josh Turek for the seat being vacated by Republican Joni Ernst. Hinson called last month for an ‘immediate end’ to the Iran war in a social media post that said Iowans ‘shouldn’t have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war.’”
… In NE, Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts faces a competitive race against independent Dan Osborn, despite Trump winning the state by more than 20 points in 2024.”
… Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) was asked by local WMTW about her vote to confirm Justice Kavanaugh, which has become a major issue in her race against Democrat Troy Jackson: “I’m very disappointed in his his vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. There was no way for me to anticipate that.”
… So she's either a hopelessly gullible rube or a liar. Take your pick.
I woke up this morning at my usual 5:00 AM and the first thing I saw was the ad against Amy Acton. I did some quick research and learning the backstory. So I’ve pretty much been pissed off all day and on a rampage on social media and podcasts about it.
It also led me to ask Brett to do a special edition of Ask the Editor today. I had your 5 questions ready to go and they were great, but I thought it was appropriate to do this today instead. So many of you ask in the comments - what can we do to make a difference? You give us this information and we want to do something but what can we do? I tried to address that in today’s show.
You can watch it later tonight yourselves because I think it is an important episode. I talked about my origin story and how incidents like this are exactly why I left my law practice to form this media company with the Meiselas brothers. I had a very specific strategy that I had worked on for years to combat Trump, the MAGA movement and the right-wing ecosystem.
Brett and I talked about how we combined our visions to create what is now Meidas and what plan is going forward. I was deeply immersed in studying the MAGA movement for 3 years from 2020-2023, and formulating a plan for how to defeat it. But it is a long term plan that would take a decade.
Because it’s not just about defeating Trump - it’s about defeating his entire toxic movement. I talked about how things were mishandled in the past by leaders that got us to this place, and our plan for how to fix it.
So I hope you can watch it because I think both Brett and I laid out our mission pretty clearly over the course of 45 minutes and talked about the role each and every one of you can play to help us.
If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here.
… NYT: “Bloomberg Gives Democrats $80 Million in 11th-Hour Midterm Push. The money from the former NYC mayor and megadonor, who is focused on ensuring a sizable Democratic House majority, will help cut into Republicans’ financial advantage.”
… NH Republican senate candidate John Sununu released a new ad distancing himself from Trump: “The way Chris Pappas tells it, I’m President Trump’s long-lost son. I’ve never even met the man. When the president’s policies are bad for NH, I’ll oppose them. That’s NH independent.”
… That seems to be a trend. NYT released this wild chart which shows that Democrats are mentioning Trump in their ads a whole lot more than Republicans, who don’t seem to want to talk much about Trump these days: