The 7
The 7

Oct 22, 2026 · 10 min

Ohio ad fight signals a volatile 2026 election

Vivek Ramaswamy doubles down; broken Eisenhower globe; toxic air's effect on the brain; and more

The episode connects a divisive Ohio campaign ad with increasingly competitive Senate races and Democrats’ sharper attacks on Donald Trump’s construction projects.

3 key takeaways
  1. 1Vivek Ramaswamy defended an Ohio ad targeting Amy Acton despite criticism from both Democrats and Republicans.
  2. 2Michigan’s Senate debate and Kansas’s unexpectedly competitive race show Republicans and Democrats facing tighter contests.
  3. 3Democrats are increasingly using Donald Trump’s construction projects as a campaign-ad strategy in the 2026 election.

Don't miss

Vivek Ramaswamy doubles down on the Ohio advertisement despite criticism from both parties.

The brief

Vivek Ramaswamy opens the episode by defending a controversial Ohio advertisement attacking Amy Acton, a move criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike.

The Ohio fight raises a broader question: when an attack ad targets one candidate, can it damage other Republicans on the same ballot?

The discussion then turns to Michigan’s final Senate debate between Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers, followed by Kansas’s unexpectedly competitive contest.

In Kansas, Roger Marshall and Adam Hamilton attacked each other’s records and political affiliations, underscoring the race’s sharper-than-expected competition.

The episode closes by examining Democrats’ growing use of Donald Trump’s construction projects in campaign ads, an aggressive strategy for an unpredictable 2026 landscape.

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