A former staffer for the late Democratic U.S. Senator from Ohio, John Glenn, said the backlash to an attack ad by Republican Vivek Ramaswamy reminds him of an ad aired in 1988 that sunk the senate campaign of former Ohio Gov. George Voinovich.
Dale Butland was working for the reelection campaign of Howard Metzenbaum when Voinovich, who was then Cleveland's mayor, ran an ad saying Metzenbaum didn't have a strong stance on child pornography. It was a different time, but Butland told WOSU the ad received enough backlash that it caused Voinovich to lose.
Now, Ramaswamy is doubling down on an ad created by his campaign using the estranged mother of Democrat Amy Acton in the current race for governor. That ad is garnering bipartisan backlash, just like the Voinovich ad in 1988.
Butland said that attack ads are nastier today, but this could "boomerang" and hurt Ramaswamy's chances.
"I do think that Ohioans are basically decent people, and I think that they have a sense of right and wrong. On the measure of right or wrong, this falls on the wrong side," Butland said.
Butland served as press secretary, speech writer, campaign manager and chief of staff to Glenn. But in 1988, Butland said he was "on loan" to the Metzenbaum campaign.
Ohio's race for governor was considered a "toss-up" by election forecasters like the Cook Political Report, but this new ad threw the race into turmoil, prompting Cook to move the race to "lean Democratic."
The ad features Acton's mother, Donna Arthur, who accuses Acton of lying about her upbringing and her opponent, Ramaswamy. It turns out that Arthur hasn't spoken to Acton, 60, in almost 50 years.
Court records show Donna Arthur's custody was revoked after her husband and Acton's stepfather, Cledith Arthur, was accused of raping Acton. Donna Arthur later fled the state with her husband to avoid the charges. Donna Arthur remained married to Cledith Arthur until his death.
Unlike what Arthur claims in the ad, court records show the family was living in a tent at the time.
The 1980s were a different time and attack ads have become more personal since then. Butland said the bar has been lowered with the political success of President Donald Trump, but there is still a line somewhere that he thinks Ohioans don't want to cross.
He thinks if Ramaswamy wins, more ads like this will happen, but if he loses, Republicans will learn a lesson.
"At least it would be my hope that from this point forward, maybe we can start getting back to some semblance of normality again. Maybe people will not try to outdo each other to see who can get the lowest, who can limbo the lowest under that bar," Butland said.
Butland said he will be surprised if polls in the coming days don't show Acton increased her lead after the ad aired. Polls before the ad showed Acton with a slight lead.
"I think you're going to see her winning, it may not be a landslide because Ohio has become a pretty red state over time. Maybe this will get it back toward more purplish," Butland said.
Butland said some independents and moderate Republicans may defect and stop supporting Ramaswamy or even vote for Acton.
Some Republicans, like former Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's wife, have said they will vote for neither.
Gov. Mike DeWine criticized the ad, but didn't remove his endorsement of Ramaswamy.
Other Republicans, like Trump and Vice President JD Vance have defended the ad from critics.
Voinovich went on to win the Ohio governor's race two years later. He was governor from 1991 to 1998.
Butland thinks Ramaswamy won't be as lucky if he loses to Acton.
