This Republican ad has outraged the US. It’s a warning for Australia

October 21, 2026 — 3:54pm

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Americans play their politics particularly hard. In Kansas, attack ads from both sides are accusing each other’s Senate candidates of protecting paedophiles – in the Republicans’ case, for voting against releasing the Epstein files; in the Democrats’ case, for allegedly shielding an offender at his church.

But in a country accustomed to low blows, a new TV ad in Ohio has shocked even hardened politicos. Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential hopeful, released an advertisement targeting Democrat Amy Acton using her own estranged mother.

“Amy has a serious problem. She is a liar,” Donna Arthur says in the commercial. “She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true. She has lied her entire life. My daughter needs help, and she can’t help you if she needs help herself.”

But Arthur lost custody of her children when Acton was a child, and the two women have not interacted since 1978. Acton has for years said she was sexually abused by her stepfather, and her campaign released records showing he was charged and indicted. The stepfather and Arthur fled the state,........

© The Age