Playbook: “Two weeks from Election Day, Republicans are looking — and sounding — increasingly desperate.”

“JD Vance is making jokes insinuating Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico is gay. President Donald Trump and Michigan Republican Mike Rogers are labeling Democrat Abdul El-Sayed as a ‘jihadist.’ And GOP groups are pouring millions into misleading ads accusing Sherrod Brown and others of supporting sex changes for minors.”

“The latest October surprise to land on X this week: A now $4 million ad from Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio featuring Amy Acton’s estranged mother denouncing her own daughter as a liar. MAGA influencers and allies of Ramaswamy, including Donald Trump Jr., quickly seized on the video as a potential political kill shot in the governor’s race.”

“That shot backfired spectacularly.”

“Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign for Ohio governor is pouring $4 million into a bombshell ad in which his opponent’s estranged mother attacks her daughter — doubling down on the message despite fierce bipartisan backlash,” Axios reports.

“Ramaswamy is gambling that the deeply personal attack by Amy Acton’s mother — who Acton has said sided with her stepfather after he sexually assaulted Acton when she was 12 — will resonate with voters.”

The New Republic: Vivek Ramaswamy defends disgusting ad with opponent’s abusive mom.

“President Trump’s political operation has rolled out a major get-out-the-vote program online in the final days of this year’s midterm elections, flooding Facebook and Instagram with ads encouraging Republicans in a number of states to cast their ballots,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Trump’s super PAC has emerged as the single largest spender nationwide on the two giant social media platforms in recent days, spending more than $1.1. million on Saturday alone. That’s four times as much as the next largest political advertiser that day.”

“President Donald Trump said that he has spent or plans to spend more than $400 million to help Republicans win the midterm elections, including on political advertising, as both parties pour billions into television and digital campaigns ahead of Nov. 3,” The Wrap reports.

The New York Times has the backstory after the mother of Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton (D) released an ad calling her daughter a liar:

“In 2019, Dr. Acton gave an interview to The Vindicator, the since-folded daily newspaper of Youngstown, Ohio, in which she disclosed being sexually abused between the ages of 9 and 12. In 1978, after her biological father made a report to police, her stepfather was charged with rape and indicted by a grand jury. He pleaded not guilty.”

“In 2020, Ms. Arthur came forward to a conservative website to say her daughter’s claims of homelessness were exaggerated. Ms. Arthur shared that after her husband was arrested, Dr. Acton testified against him in court. Ms. Arthur supported her husband, rather than her daughter.”

“Both women have said that they have not seen or spoken to each other since that day in court in 1978.”

“Hundreds of Democratic ads over the last two months have zeroed in on a common message: GOP corruption is costing you,” Punchbowl News reports.

“It’s an interesting way for Democrats to cast Republicans as self-serving and ethically challenged while continuing to emphasize the affordability crisis. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries even acknowledged the push to amplify this message in recent days.”

Said Jeffries: “The cost of corruption is an incredibly important theme that our candidates have been communicating all across the country. The cost of living is way too high, and Donald Trump, along with his Republican sycophantic members of Congress, have actually decided not to do anything about it, because so many of them are so focused on enriching themselves.”

For members: It’s the Corruption Too, Stupid

“A woman claiming to be Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton’s (D) mother branded the progressive candidate a ‘liar’ and urged Ohioans not to vote for her in a new video that hit social media on Monday night,” Mediaite reports.

Said Donna Arthur: “I love my daughter, but when I saw her lying about her opponent, it’s not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy has a serious problem. She is a liar. She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent — none of that is true. She’s lied her entire life.”

“At rallies across the country, President Trump has implored voters to ‘pretend I’m on the ballot’ in the midterm elections,” the New York Times reports.

“But on the airwaves, his party is sending the opposite message.”

“Less than $1 of every $100 in Republican television ad spending on House and Senate races from Sept. 9 through Oct. 17 has gone toward commercials that mention the word ‘Trump.'”

“AI is producing reality-bending midterm ads about defaced Bibles, upscale dinners and a board game with a ‘Death to America’ playing card,” Axios reports.

“The warnings about deepfakes are coming true. Election laws haven’t kept pace with a world where campaigns can put words in opponents’ mouths and create realistic-looking scenes that didn’t happen.”

“The Wesleyan Media Project found $137 million had been spent on 220 AI-generated ads through Oct. 11, mostly from Republicans.”

“Donald Trump is barnstorming the country to boost Republicans in the final weeks of the midterms. But many candidates want to keep that support quiet,” Politico reports.

”The president is nowhere to be found in GOP ads, even in red states where Republicans were happy to tout his endorsement two years ago. And some candidates are hesitant to appear with Trump on the campaign trail — even as they hope he will help juice turnout among the MAGA base in November.”

“Midterm ad spending continues to soar toward record highs with less than three weeks until the elections,” NewsNation reports.

“Republican control of Congress is at stake this year, and both parties are flooding the airwaves with ads promoting their candidates. AdImpact announced Wednesday that total ad spending and future reservations topped $10 billion so far this cycle, putting it ahead of the final spending numbers for the entire 2020 and 2022 election cycles.”

“Michael Whatley’s campaign has temporarily gone dark in North Carolina,” Politico reports.

“The Republican Senate nominee does not currently have future linear TV ad reservations booked in the race, a highly unusual move less than three weeks before Election Day in a state that was once considered a top GOP priority.”

“Republicans are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising in battleground Senate races as they scramble to defend increasingly competitive GOP seats in the final stretch of the midterms,” CNN reports.

“But when it comes to how far they can stretch a dollar, they’re effectively paying premium prices at Whole Foods while Democrats are shopping deals at Costco.”

“Across nine of the most competitive Senate races last month, Republicans cumulatively outspent Democrats on broadcast TV ads by nearly 100% more, $233 million to $121 million, according to AdImpact data, but only saw about 40% more rating points.”

“Millions of dollars in spending have poured into north and central Colorado, flooding television commercial breaks with near-ceaseless political advertisements as the razor-tight race for a swing congressional seat enters its final three weeks,” the Denver Post reports.

“Coloradans who tuned into a ‘Dateline’ rerun Monday afternoon, for instance, would have been treated to a firehose of ads about U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, the Republican fighting to keep his 8th Congressional District seat, or his Democratic opponent, former state Rep. Manny Rutinel.”

“Drivers in three key swing states are about to see even more billboards blaming President Donald Trump for rising prices, according to details shared first with Semafor,” Semafor reports.

“Home of the Brave is nearly doubling its billboard campaign in Michigan, Ohio, and Iowa, adding $1 million in new billboards on top of the $1.25 million the group already spent.”