Vivek Ramaswamy thought that an ad attacking his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, for abuse that she was subjected to as a child was a game-changer. He was behind the ad, and the candidate did not listen when other Republicans tried to talk him out of it.
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From the moment that the ad was released on the Internet, it has been a disaster for Republicans. Ramaswamy has refused to take the ad down and is being cheered on by Donald Trump and JD Vance.
Ramaswamy was already losing in Ohio before the ad, but now he has become radioactive, and a new internal Republican poll shows that he is hurting the entire ticket in Ohio.
The private poll, commissioned by a Republican group and obtained by Axios, found Acton leading Ramaswamy by eight points — up from a two-point lead in the same poll earlier this month, before the ad began circulating on Oct. 19.
The ad “is having a significant effect on the gubernatorial race,” a memo attached to the poll states.
Republicans could likely live with Ramaswamy nuking his own campaign. There would be no tears shed over his defeat in quite a few Republican circles.
The problem that Republicans have is that Ramaswamy’s toxicity has spread to the rest of the party’s ticket in Ohio.