Private Poll Reports Acton Leads Ramaswamy by Eight Points

A private poll commissioned by a Republican group reportedly found Democrat Amy Acton leading Republican Vivek Ramaswamy by eight points in Ohio’s governor’s race, as the candidates’ campaigns faced scrutiny over an advertisement featuring Acton’s estranged mother. The reported poll showed a wider margin than an earlier survey taken before the ad began airing, but its underlying methodology and field dates were not provided in the reporting. A separate USA Today-Suffolk University survey of 500 likely Ohio voters, interviewed October 21-26, put Acton at 48% and Ramaswamy at 44%. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. Its results offer a different snapshot from the private poll and do not establish that the advertisement caused a change in overall support. The campaign ad features Donna Arthur criticizing her daughter’s account of her childhood and calling her a liar. The dispute centers in part on Acton’s public accounts of childhood sexual abuse by her stepfather and periods when the family lived in a tent. The ad has drawn criticism from some Republicans, including Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who urged Ramaswamy to stop airing it. President Donald...