GOP Poll: Vivek Ramaswamy Ad Backfires

What happened

Updated Oct 28, 3:41pm ET

A Republican-commissioned poll found that Vivek Ramaswamy’s anti-Acton ad backfired among voters familiar with it. The private survey found Amy Acton leading Ramaswamy by eight points, after she had led by two earlier this month. Ramaswamy’s campaign had put about $4 million behind an ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother, Donna Arthur, calling her a liar. Acton has said her stepfather sexually abused her at 12, and court records show he was charged and indicted in 1978. Ramaswamy defended the ad as a challenge to Acton’s truthfulness, while Ohio Republicans Mike DeWine and Jon Husted criticized it. Republicans now worry the backlash could hurt other Ohio candidates.

How the left told it

Left-leaning outlets framed the ad as an exploitation of Acton’s childhood trauma, with the main blame on Ramaswamy and his defenders. MS NOW called it a shameful use of trauma. Daily Beast emphasized political damage to Ramaswamy. HuffPost focused on warnings he ignored from people near his campaign.

How the right told it

Only one right-leaning outlet we track covered this: Daily Mail, under the headline “Vivek Ramaswamy's attack on Amy Acton misfires with new witness' claim”.