Republicans see the election as a choice between common sense and crazy

SHARONVILLE — It’s a choice between common sense and crazy.

That’s how Republicans are defining the choice voters have on Election Day in less than two weeks.

In pushing their closing message ahead of Election Day, Republicans are telling voters who may not be all in on the Republican slate of candidates running for state and federal offices that they’re still better than the Democrats.

While Ohio has been a reliably Republican state in recent years, several high-profile races are locked in down-to-the-wire finishes. That includes the U.S. Senate race between Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted and Sherrod Brown, who was voted out of his U.S. Senate seat two years ago.

In another closely watched affair, the governor’s race has seemingly derailed after Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy released an ad featuring the estranged mother of Amy Acton, his Democratic opponent. In the ad, Donna Arthur said Acton lies and cannot be trusted as governor.

The controversy centers on allegations that Arthur’s husband and Acton’s stepfather, Cledith Arthur, abused Acton and her brother. The Associated Press reported that Arthur was charged with the rape of his then 12-year-old stepdaughter, pleaded not guilty, then fled and was not convicted before he died in 2004.

UPDATE: The Mahoning County Clerk of Courts has now REFUSED even a physical inspection of the 1978 Acton records.

Even though required by Ohio law.

That’s alright, guess we’ll go the other route:

Effective upon receipt, we are bringing suit. There is no legal basis for… pic.twitter.com/Y5h9pIoNoU

— Walter Curt (@wcdispatch) October 21, 2026

The risk of releasing the video is clearly calculated. While it may dissuade some Republican voters, the question is whether enough undecided voters will see the ad, and will it sway them to vote against Acton.

It’s the latest discussion point in a campaign that has featured throngs of social media posts but little policy discussion. Hindering a substantive policy discussion, Acton has refused to debate Ramaswamy, instead targeting the entrepreneur with insults about his character.

Meanwhile, the leftist agitator man children have been released.

Isn’t it ironic that Vivek is willing to go out openly and accessibly to engage voters respectfully and his opponent is hidden from public view or scrutiny and propped up under a victim narrative suggesting her… https://t.co/R3aaqI7yTZ

— Marcell Strbich (@marcellstrbich) October 21, 2026

“She refused to debate me on the great right-wing news giants of CNN and NBC News,” Ramaswamy said at a campaign stop in Westerville. “…My own advisor said, ‘I don’t know about those networks. They don’t treat conservatives fairly.’

“I don’t care. If I’m running to lead a state of 12 million people, the seventh-largest state in the country, $100 billion budget, if I can’t defend my positions on a debate stage, that means I’m not fit to lead,” he added. “Well, I would say the same of my opponent.”

Republicans are bringing in the big guns to shore up their standing in the state. Vice President JD Vance campaigned in the state this week, and President Donald Trump is returning next week.

“There are a lot of people watching who are making up their minds, and I get it,” Vance said during a campaign stop. “Maybe you don’t like everything I’ve just said. Maybe you don’t agree with Jon Husted or Vivek Ramaswamy on every issue. I’m not asking that. I’m not asking the people of Ohio to agree 100% with me or anybody else. All I’m asking is that you think seriously about who’s going to fight with you and who’s going to bend the needs of the far-left crazy people in the United States of America.

“What we need in Columbus is the same thing that we need in Washington, D.C.,” the vice president added. “It’s not rubber stamps for anybody, and neither one of these guys is a rubber stamp for any agenda except for the agenda of the people of Ohio. What you need is people of courage, people of decency, and people of common sense.”

The Acton campaign hasn’t responded to multiple requests from Ohio.News throughout the campaign, including about her role as director of the state’s health department during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the Acton campaign clapped back at Ramaswamy on bringing her mother into the race, it previously included Ramaswamy’s mother in a release, alleging he used her to manipulate clinical trials as part of a “pump and dump” scheme. Even the left-leaning PolitiFact disputed the claim.