Week in Politics: Ramaswamy's Ohio ad; Trump greenlights DOJ to sue over Alaska Senate

Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy refuses to withdrawal an explosive attack ad, and President Trump greenlights the DOJ to file a lawsuit about Alaska's senate race. Midterm politics grew especially ugly this week in Ohio. The Republican candidate for governor, Vivek Ramaswamy, released an attack ad against his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton.

The ad featured Acton's estranged mother who called her daughter a liar and urged Ohioans not to vote for her. But a lot of context - much of it sad and upsetting - was missing from that ad. And before we go on, please be aware we're about to talk about allegations of sexual abuse.

NPR senior political contributor Ron Elving joins us. Ron, thanks for being with us. RON ELVING, BYLINE: Good to be with you, Scott.

SIMON: Legal documents from nearly 50 years ago show that Amy Acton, then 12, and her younger brother were removed from their mother's home following their stepfather's arrest. He was charged with sexual conduct with a minor, fled the state with their mother. He died without facing trial.

Amy Acton says he raped her and that she had been sexually abused beginning when she was just 9 years old. The ad has been condemned, including by the current Republican governor, and yet, Ramaswamy continues to defend it. ELVING: There's an old expression I think we all know - in for a dime in for a dollar.

If you're going to risk your statewide campaign and the tens of millions of dollars that Elon Musk and others have invested in it, if you are already risking all that on this kind of tactics - this ad that's divided the Republican Party in Ohio and nationally - then it's not surprising that you choose to defend it. The same goes for Ramaswamy backers, like Vice President JD Vance, who condemned, but rather Republicans who criticized it, calling them whiners - or, for that matter, President Trump, who could have easily stayed out of it but waded in with both feet, telling Ramaswamy to keep the ad running. SIMON: Is this something with a potential damage to not just Ramaswamy, but other Republicans this election?