A rare red line in deeply cynical times

It’s been a particularly brutal cycle for attack ads, but voters are responding with humanity. Plus: on the campaign trail with a Democrat in KansasThis was originally published in the Stakes 2026, a newsletter about the midterm elections. Sign up to get it in your inboxThere’s a campaign moment I can’t stop thinking about. It happened shortly after the campaign of Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee for governor of Ohio, released a shocking attack ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton.In the ad, as many readers will know by now, Acton’s mother accuses her daughter of