Midterm attack ads turn family tragedies into political ammunition

Georgia, Ohio and North Carolina races feature ads aired over grieving families' objections

By LineZotpaper AI staff

Published26 October 2026

Read Time3 min

A new Axios report on Monday details how campaigns in the 2026 midterms are using other people's family tragedies as political ammunition, sometimes over the objections of the families themselves. The ads include images of murdered children and a mother's 911 call, a mother attacking her estranged daughter, and grieving relatives whose accounts are disputed.

Axios reported that campaigns in the 2026 midterms are using other people's family tragedies as political ammunition, sometimes over the objections of the families themselves.

In the Georgia governor's race, Republican nominee Rick Jackson used images of murdered 8-year-old Secoriea Turner and her mother's anguished 911 call in an ad attacking Democratic rival Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor. Turner's family demanded the ad be taken down, saying the campaign exploited their grief without permission. Jackson said he would keep airing it.

In Ohio's governor's race, Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy is spending $4 million on an ad featuring Donna Arthur, the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent Amy Acton. Arthur calls her daughter a liar and disputes Acton's account of childhood homelessness. Acton says her late stepfather sexually abused her as a child and she has not spoken to her mother in decades. Acton's brother corroborated her account, and court records and contemporary news reports support key details. President Donald Trump urged Ramaswamy to keep running the attack despite objections from some fellow Republicans. Ramaswamy's campaign said the ad tested well with persuadable voters, even as critics warned it could backfire.

In Ohio's Senate race, a Republican attack ad against former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown featured images of a couple and their 1-year-old son killed in a highway crash, blaming Brown's immigration policies. The victims' family demanded its removal, saying nobody sought permission to use their relatives' images. In North Carolina's Senate race, a Republican super PAC featured a grieving father in an ad linking the murder of his 23-year-old son to former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper's prison policies. The father said he felt deceived about the ad's purpose. The group disputes his account, and fact-checkers found no connection between the killer and Cooper's prisoner-release agreement.

Not all families object to the practice. In Nebraska, Jody Snogren voluntarily appeared in an ad attacking Republican Senator Pete Ricketts for his 2022 vote to pardon John Arias, who pleaded guilty to raping her. Snogren told The 19th she chose to tell her story to inform voters and had no regrets. Ricketts expressed sympathy for Snogren but defended the pardon, noting Arias had served his full sentence and the pardon came decades after the crime.

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Analysis

Why This Matters

The ads put grieving families back into the public eye during painful moments, with several saying their images and stories were used without consent.
The practice raises questions about how far campaigns can go in using private tragedy to score political points.
These personal attacks could shape voter opinion in key midterm races in Georgia, Ohio and North Carolina.

Background

Attack ads have long been a fixture of American political campaigns, and candidates have often used personal stories to illustrate policy debates. What is drawing attention this cycle is the use of people who did not volunteer for the ads, including murdered children and grieving relatives, and the public disputes that followed when families objected.

Key Perspectives

Secoriea Turner's family: says the ad exploited their grief and demanded it be removed.
Rick Jackson: said he would keep airing the ad against Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Donna Arthur: calls her daughter Amy Acton a liar and disputes her account of childhood homelessness.
Amy Acton: says her late stepfather sexually abused her as a child, and she has not spoken to her mother in decades; her brother corroborated her account.
Donald Trump: urged Ramaswamy to keep running the attack.
Ramaswamy's campaign: said the ad tested well with persuadable voters.
Ohio Senate ad victims' family: demanded the ad's removal, saying nobody sought permission to use their relatives' images.
North Carolina grieving father: said he felt deceived about the ad's purpose.
The Republican super PAC: disputes the father's account.
Jody Snogren: voluntarily appeared in an ad attacking Pete Ricketts and said she had no regrets.
Pete Ricketts: expressed sympathy for Snogren but defended the pardon.

What to Watch

Whether any campaigns change course and pull the ads following family objections, with Rick Jackson so far saying he will keep his ad on air.
How voters respond to the ads, including whether they help or hurt the candidates who run them.
Whether more such ads appear before Election Day as campaigns look for an edge in competitive races.

Sources

Campaigns drag grieving families into midterm attack ads · Axios

Checked

12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 10 supported.

Show each claim

SupportedMidterm attack ads are using family tragedies as political ammunition.Axios: “The 2026 midterms have taken a deeply personal turn as campaigns use other people's family tragedies as political ammunition”
Partly supportedGeorgia, Ohio and North Carolina races feature ads aired over grieving families’ objections.Axios: “The father said he felt deceived about the ad's purpose. The group disputes his account”
Not in the sourcesAxios published the report on Monday.Axios: “The 2026 midterms have taken a deeply personal turn as campaigns use other people's family tragedies as political ammunition”
SupportedThe campaigns are using other people’s family tragedies as political ammunition, sometimes over families’ objections.Axios: “campaigns use other people's family tragedies as political ammunition — sometimes over the objections of the families themselves.”
SupportedIn Georgia, Rick Jackson used images of Secoriea Turner and her mother’s 911 call in an ad attacking Keisha Lance Bottoms.Axios: “Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson used images of murdered 8-year-old Secoriea Turner and her mother's anguished 911 call to attack Democratic rival Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta's former mayor.”
SupportedTurner’s family demanded that the ad be taken down, saying the campaign exploited their grief without permission.Axios: “Turner's family demanded the ads come down, accusing the campaign of exploiting their grief without permission.”
SupportedJackson said he would keep airing the ad.Axios: “Jackson said he would keep airing them .”
SupportedRamaswamy’s campaign is spending $4 million on an ad featuring Donna Arthur.Axios: “Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign is spending $4 million on an ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton.”
SupportedArthur calls Acton a liar and disputes her account of childhood homelessness.Axios: “In the ad, Donna Arthur calls her daughter a liar and disputes her account of childhood homelessness.”
SupportedActon says her late stepfather sexually abused her when she was a child.Axios: “Acton says her late stepfather — who was married to her mother until his death — sexually abused her as a child”
SupportedThe Ohio Senate attack ad used images of a couple and their 1-year-old son killed in a highway crash, and the victims’ family demanded its removal.Axios: “A Republican attack ad against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown featured images of a couple and their 1-year-old son killed in a highway crash to blame Brown's immigration policies. The victims' family demanded its removal”
SupportedA North Carolina Republican super PAC ad linked the murder of a 23-year-old man to Roy Cooper’s prison policies.Axios: “A Republican super PAC featured a grieving father in an attack ad linking the murder of his 23-year-old son to former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's prison policies.”