Washington, Nov 2 (IANS) Indian American Republican Vivek Ramaswamy made his final push for the Ohio governorship on Sunday (local time) as former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a fellow Republican, called him one of the worst candidates his party had put forward.
Christie made the remark on ABC’s “This Week” during a roundtable discussion of candidate quality two days before Tuesday’s election.
After Democratic strategist Donna Brazile raised Ohio, saying “that ad is still having a ripple effect across the Ramaswamy –“, Christie said: “You’re not going to get any argument from me about the quality of the gubernatorial candidate in Ohio. He’s one of the worst political candidates our party has put forward for major positions.”
“I’ve been on this air talking about Ramaswamy and talking about Paxton,” Christie said later, referring also to Texas Senate nominee Ken Paxton.
Ramaswamy’s own closing message featured at the top of CBS’s “Face the Nation”, which opened with a clip of him saying: “It is now or never. For the future of the United States, for the future of Ohio. It is communism versus common sense.”
The race against Democrat Amy Acton has been shaped in its final week by a Ramaswamy campaign ad featuring Acton’s estranged biological mother, Donna Arthur, the Ohio Capital Journal reported.
Ramaswamy is no longer airing the ad. “It ran to completion, and we’ve put up 4 other ads,” he told reporters on Thursday, according to the Ohio Capital Journal.
Acton, speaking to reporters on Friday outside the Franklin County Board of Elections, said: “There is no bar too low apparently for my opponent, he will say and do anything. … I think it was absolutely despicable to do this. I really hope everyone is held accountable for their behavior in this.”
Republican Governor Mike DeWine had called on Ramaswamy to take the ad down, while President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance defended him.
The Cook Political Report rates the race “Lean Democrat”, the outlet said.
The FiftyPlusOne polling average on Sunday put Acton ahead by about three points, at about 49 per cent to Ramaswamy’s about 46 per cent.
A Miami University student survey conducted from October 26 to 29 found Acton leading 52 per cent to 42 per cent among likely voters, with a margin of error of about six points. The survey found 80 per cent of likely voters had seen the ad.
Its authors said their counterfactual questions suggested the ad reduced favourability toward Ramaswamy, but cautioned that the estimates “do not establish the ad’s causal effect on actual voting behavior.”
Vance is due to campaign in Swanton, near Toledo, on Monday, WLWT reported.
On X, Ramaswamy said he had “a great crowd today” in Ashtabula County and added: “The next time will be for our victory tour after we win on Tuesday.” He also said he and his wife Apoorva met “Charlotte, a 104-year-old lady, at church this morning in Summit County.”
Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur and 2024 presidential candidate, faces Acton and Libertarian Don Kissick.
–IANS
lkj/rs/
