Ohio Trump voters' reactions to Vivek Ramaswamy's Ohio governor campaign ad
A focus group of Ohio voters who supported Donald Trump in 2024 was shown Vivek Ramaswamy's attack ad against Democrat Amy Acton and the response ad from Acton's campaign.
Vivek Ramaswamy has funded a television advertisement targeting Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, spending roughly $4 million on the spot. The ad features a woman claiming to be Acton's mother and alleging falsehoods about Acton's past. The campaign has received public support from President Donald Trump and Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance. On October 22, three days after the ad began circulating online, a focus group of ten Ohio voters who had backed Trump in the 2024 election was convened to gauge reactions. Half of the participants had previously taken part in a focus group and expressed some openness to Ramaswamy, while the other half were less favorable toward him before the session. Participants viewed both Ramaswamy's ad and the counter-advertisement released by Acton's campaign, which included a statement from her brother. The discussion aimed to assess whether the negative messaging would influence voter perceptions.