The attack ad that may have 'backfired spectacularly' in a major US election race

The ad was paid for by the campaign of Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy in one of the nation's most closely-watched and expensive races for state office that had already been dubbed one of the "ugliest in the country" by the New York Times. The ad, which goes after Ramaswamy's Democratic rival Amy Acton, features Acton's estranged mother calling her a "liar". Acton's mother lost custody of her children decades ago after her husband was charged with raping Acton as a child. By the weekend, several days after the ad began circulating, both the Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball shifted their election forecasts for the Ohio governor's race from "toss-up" to "lean Democrat". The US midterm elections are less than two weeks away. Ramaswamy is endorsed by US President Donald Trump, who has defended the ad despite intense backlash from across the political spectrum.