CNN: MAGA Pundits Scott Jennings & Jason Rantz Slam Trump-Backed Candidate

Conservative commentator Scott Jennings and fellow MAGA pundit Jason Rantz criticized Trump-backed Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on CNN NewsNight on Tuesday (October 20), following the release of a campaign ad targeting his opponent, Amy Acton.

“This is one of the strangest things I’ve seen at the end of a campaign,” host Abby Phillip said, referring to the ad, which features Acton’s estranged mother, Donna Arthur, disputing her daughter’s claims of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of her late stepfather.

Phillip said she “cannot figure out the strategy here,” calling it an “extremely risky” tactic from Ramaswamy’s camp.

Jennings agreed that it’s “extremely risky,” saying, “I think the way it first got out was they were testing it in some sort of focus group, and it sort of escaped the lab, and they might think that it tested well. Of course, what you can’t test in those settings is the rebuttal. And when people actually find out the story.”

Scott Jennings comes out with some tough words for the #OhioGov ad from Team Vivek using Amy Acton’s estranged mom, who’s been accused of abusing Amy and her brother…

“It is extremely risky. I agree with you. This kind of thing. You know, I think the way it first got out was they were testing it in some sort of focus group, and it sort of escaped the lab, and they might think that it tested well. Of course, what you can’t test in those settings is the rebuttal. And when people actually find out the story. Nobody really knows or could know what happened back in 1978 here. I do know this. The person who was accused of abusing her fled the state and ran away and never faced a trial, which tells us something as well. So, I agree, it is an extremely risky strategy. I talked to a lot of people in Ohio tonight before I came out here. Got a lot of — a lot of people who were unsure that this was the right thing to do. I also talked to a lot of political people who believe, for the last two weeks in Ohio, things have actually been tracking in the right direction for Republicans. They’re actually okay with what they’re seeing in the early voting data. They believe Husted is in an improved position. But to throw out a piece like this at the end of a race is not a confidence-inspiring item. And — and, you know, we’ll have to see where it lands.”

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 21, 2026

The MAGA mouthpiece said that nobody truly knows what happened but pointed to how, after the abuse claims, Acton’s stepfather “fled the state and ran away and never faced a trial, which tells us something as well.”

“So I agree, it is an extremely risky strategy,” he added. “I talked to a lot of people in Ohio tonight… got a lot of people who were unsure that this was the right thing to do.”

Jennings said he’d spoken to “a lot of political people” who believe things have been trending in the right direction for Republicans in Ohio over the last two weeks. “But to throw out a piece like this at the end of a race is not a confidence-inspiring item,” he stated.

Jason Rantz on Ramaswamy’s attack ad: ‘This is unbelievably disgusting… it’s a shame’ https://t.co/N1sZlrHnry

— CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip (@CNN_NewsNight) October 21, 2026

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Rantz went a step further than Jennings, calling the ad “unbelievably disgusting” and saying it was an “indictment” on Ramaswamy.

“Look, prior to this, I would have voted for him if I lived in Ohio; after this, knowing the backstory, I wouldn’t,” he added. “Is this a political risk that potentially can play for him? Only if no one finds out the backstory.”

Rantz continued, “It is so unbelievably disgusting to put this kind of ad out, and we’re seeing smears like this, and we’ve seen this is not necessarily new, but I’ve never seen it this low. And I don’t think Vivek should want to be known for that. And it’s just a shame. I do think he could lead. But this shows that he can’t.”