Politics and views in the United States

Ohio Republican governor denounces Ramaswamy attack ad, union members get out the vote in Michigan, and SCOTUS rules student IDs can’t be used by New Hampshire college students.

Transcript

Welcome to 2026 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

We all have an obligation to speak out for the victims.

We need to speak out.

We need to send the message to children that we are here to protect them and that there are people who will in fact protect them.

And we just have to make sure we always try to do that.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine called on the state's Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy to pull an attack ad against this Democratic opponent.

The ad features Donna Arthur, the biological mother of former Ohio public health official and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton, calling her a liar.

The ad fails to mention Acton was removed from the custody of her mother at the age of 12 after Acton's stepfather was indicted by a grand jury for raping her.

He fled Ohio to avoid prosecution and remained a fugitive until his death.

Acton's mother remained married to him even after the charges were filed.

The ad has created fissures even within the GOP.

President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D.

Vance have both encouraged Ramaswamy to continue showing the ad.

Meanwhile, Republicans in Ohio have called on the Ramaswamy campaign to remove the ad from the airwaves.

Ramaswamy so far has doubled down on the effort, committing $4 million to the ad between now and the election.

In response to the ad and repeated polling showing Acton opening a lead against Ramaswamy, some analysts have said the race is now in Acton's favor.

Union members are encouraging voters to get to the polls in the final days of the midterm elections, calling on corporations to get out of politics.

On Saturday, union members with the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, will do door-to-door canvassing to spur voters to get out.

Eleanor Denise Campbell with SEIU in Michigan says the stakes of this election are high for working people.

Working people need to rally together and stick up and speak with one voice and one purpose and bring power back to themselves and take it away from these corporations.

The Supreme Court has granted an emergency order in New Hampshire that bans the use of all student IDs to vote, overturning a lower court decision.

The original case challenged a recently signed law that removes student IDs from a list of approved identification voters can use to receive a ballot.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee took out a $15 million loan as the campaign arm of Senate Democrats make a late-October push in an expanded electoral map.

Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned about the threats of escalating conflicts around the world yesterday.

He said conflicts feed into economic and social inequality and that governments must listen to the legitimate grievances of their peoples.

We are now witnessing an El Nino of war.

Conflict is feeding conflict and the consequences are traveling farther and faster.

We are seeing civilians and civilian infrastructure deliberately thrust into the line of fire.

The Justice Department announced an investigation into Republican operative Corey Lewandowski over contract misconduct and enrichment during his time at the Department of Homeland Security.

I'm Zamone Perez for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.