“Was It immature? Yes. Was It Juvenile? Yes. Was It Perverted? Probably.”
The most infamous political advertisement of the 2026 election cycle was first scooped by a quirky blogger who recently went to jail for sending a lawmaker what you might call a Shrext—a sexually explicit illustration of Shrek. D.J. Byrnes, the man behind a lefty Ohio political news site called The Rooster, was first to report […]
The most notorious political advertisement of the 2026 election cycle was initially uncovered by D.J. Byrnes, a blogger who had recently served time for sending sexually explicit material to a lawmaker. Byrnes, who runs a political news site called The Rooster, reported that Ohio Republicans had located the estranged mother of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton and intended to use her in an ad attacking her daughter.
Acton had not seen her mother, Donna Arthur, since 1978, due to a traumatic incident when she was 12 years old. Byrnes' report led to the unaired ad's debut, featuring a disheveled Donna accusing her daughter of being unfit for office because she lied about her abusive childhood. Within 24 hours of Byrnes publishing the clip, Ramaswamy acknowledged his involvement and pledged to spend $4 million on the ad.
The ad's release significantly impacted Ramaswamy's poll numbers, causing a decline in support. The controversial ad has sparked outrage from both Republicans and Democrats, including former Governor Mike DeWine. Byrnes' unconventional methods have earned him both praise and criticism, with his scoops challenging the narratives of other Ohio Republican candidates.
Written by urgent.news from Mother Jones's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
