[U.S. midterm election] Republican Ramaswami loses Ohio governor election due to 'despicable advertisement'

Ahead of the Ohio gubernatorial election in the U.S. midterm election, the ruling party candidate who mobilized the mother of the opposition candidate to release a harsh and aggressive advertisement eventually bowed out.

As the counting of votes for the Ohio gubernatorial election was underway on the 3rd (local time), US broadcasters such as NBC predicted that the opposition Democratic candidate Amy Acton won, defeating the Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

At the end of his election campaign, candidate Ramaswamy began releasing a large number of one-minute advertisements featuring candidate Acton's mother.

In the advertisement, the mother sniped at her daughter, Candidate Acton, saying, "It's not easy for me to say this as a mother, but my daughter is a liar."

However, a strong backlash arose when it was revealed that Acton suffered sexual abuse and other abuse by his stepfather as a child, which led to his separation from his mother and stepfather at the age of 12.

Moreover, it was revealed that when the stepfather was indicted, the mother fled with her, abandoned her daughter, and lived with the stepfather until his death.

Candidate Acton, who was a victim of abuse and neglect as a child, brought his mother, who was on the side of the abuser, into the election field even though it is clear that he must have lived with trauma.

When this advertisement became controversial, the Republican Party quickly drew a line, fearing that it would spark a firestorm in other elections, but President Trump actually defended candidate Ramaswamy's advertisement, causing even greater controversy.

This appears to have acted as a major headwind for the Republican Party in this election. Ohio has been a place with strong Republican support since President Trump won the 2016 presidential election, and Vice President JD Vance served as a senator until he won the 2024 presidential election, but the ruling party candidate lost.

In addition to the gubernatorial election, NBC predicted that Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown defeated incumbent senator John Husted in the U.S. Senate election in Ohio.

Candidate Ramaswamy, who is an Indian immigrant and made his fortune by starting a biotech company, gained political recognition by running as the youngest candidate in the Republican primary election ahead of the 2024 presidential election and competing with President Trump.

After the inauguration of the second Trump administration, he served as co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and grew into a prominent politician within the Republican Party, but ultimately lost this election, leaving a stain on his political career.