Vivek Ramaswamy pulls Ohio attack ad featuring his rival's estranged mother after a Republican poll suggests it backfired

Ramaswamy's campaign put only around $1 million of a pledged $4 million toward the ad before halting it, and an internal Republican poll showed it had badly misfired — with Democrat Amy Acton opening up an eight-point lead after it ran, compared to just two points before it launched on 19 October. Ramaswamy insisted the spot had "run to completion" rather than been pulled under pressure.

The ad featured Donna Arthur — estranged from Acton for nearly 50 years — calling her daughter a "lifelong liar", without disclosing that Arthur had lost custody after her husband faced an indictment for the rape of Acton when she was 12.

Voters who had seen the ad said, by a two-to-one ratio, that it left them more inclined to support Acton; Trump had personally told Ramaswamy to keep it on air, calling Acton "fair game."

Ohio's Republican Governor Mike DeWine publicly urged Ramaswamy to take the ad down, while Acton's campaign called it "despicable" and said he owed her family an apology he has not given.