The 2026 midterm campaign season has abandoned even the pretense of hardball politics, descending into a swamp of scummy advertising and outright lies. As the old saying goes, politics ain't beanbag—but this year's races have traded beanbags for mudslides.
In Texas, Republican operatives, boosted by Elon Musk's X platform, spread a vicious falsehood about Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, claiming he had abandoned his campaign to seek treatment at an Ohio psychiatric facility. In reality, Talarico was simply recovering from the flu. The smear was a transparent attempt to distract from the multiple ethical scandals enveloping his opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton was impeached by a Republican-controlled Texas House in 2023, his wife filed for divorce on “Biblical grounds,” and he has never credibly explained how a state employee amassed a multimillion-dollar real estate portfolio. Even his own senior staff reported him to the FBI, and prominent Republicans, including Barbara and Neil Bush, have endorsed Talarico.
Michigan's Senate race has seen an equally ugly turn, with Republican Mike Rogers peddling Islamophobic attacks against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed. Rogers has falsely linked El-Sayed to terrorist sympathies, using fabricated AI-generated images and exploiting bigoted stereotypes that American Muslims are somehow unpatriotic. These tactics, which echo the darkest days of post-9/11 prejudice, have no place in a democracy, yet Rogers continues to amplify them.
But the most reprehensible act of this cycle belongs to Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. His campaign aired an ad featuring the elderly mother of his opponent, Amy Acton, accusing her of lying about childhood trauma. The ad conveniently omits that Acton's stepfather was charged with abusing a 12-year-old girl—Acton herself—and that her mother sided with the accused abuser, losing custody of Acton and her brother. Acton's brother, Philip Stearns, called the ad a “despicable low,” adding that Ramaswamy is “a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants.”
The backlash has been intense, even from within Ramaswamy's own party. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) told CNN the ad is “the most shameful, disgusting, offensive ad this election season,” and that Ramaswamy has “managed to limbo under the lowest bar of decency in this country.” Rather than apologize, Ramaswamy doubled down with a $4 million ad buy, and President Trump encouraged him to “keep it up.” Vice President JD Vance dismissed Republican critics as “whining” and added his own insult, mocking Acton at a rally by suggesting she has a drinking problem and calling her a “crazy person.”
This race is part of a troubling pattern in Ohio, where child abuse has become a political weapon. Republicans are spending millions to reelect Rep. Max Miller, whose former wife has accused him of abusing her and their daughter. The child's grandfather, Sen. Bernie Moreno, has called Miller unfit to serve and demanded his resignation—yet the Congressional Leadership Fund has booked over $5 million in ads for him.
Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan once coined the phrase “defining deviancy downward,” and Trump's presidency—with his infamous “grab them by the pussy” remarks and hush-money scandal—has accelerated that spiral. Ramaswamy, who once angrily emailed me after I criticized his dismissive comments about white supremacists, now seems to think that attacking a survivor of abuse is a winning strategy. It's a new low, even for this era of get-in-the-gutter politics.
As the midterms approach, voters should be appalled by these tactics. The lies and smears are not just offensive—they undermine the very foundation of democratic discourse. Trump and Vance's rally schedule suggests they see this as a winning formula, but history will judge them harshly. Even Mitch McConnell has warned that Trump's approach to foreign policy is flawed, and his domestic tactics are no better. The 2026 elections should be about ideas, not lies.
