Ohio Midterms: Obama targets $2 trillion war bill and local attacks

Ohio voters will face a November ballot where national war spending and a local family dispute intersect. Former President Barack Obama arrived in the state on Saturday to argue that the cost of the recent US-Israel conflict with Iran has become a tangible burden for households.

At a rally supporting Democratic candidates, Obama cited a $2 trillion price tag for the administration’s foreign policy choices. He described the conflict as an unnecessary war that nobody asked for. Obama told the crowd that two years of chaos and cruelty under President Donald Trump’s second term give Ohioans a rare chance to say enough is enough.

The former president also addressed a heated gubernatorial race between Democrat Amy Acton and Republican Vivek Ramaswamy. An attack ad released by Ramaswamy’s campaign features Donna Arthur, Acton’s mother, disputing her daughter’s account of a childhood marked by homelessness and sexual abuse. Arthur urges voters not to support Acton based on these claims.

Acton maintains she has not seen her mother since 1978. Her brother has publicly supported her story, noting that their stepfather, who died in 2004, was charged with rape. Obama sided with Acton, praising her for speaking movingly about her painful experiences with abuse, neglect, and homelessness.

Sharing the stage with Acton was former Senator Sherrod Brown, who is running for a comeback bid against incumbent Republican Senator Jon Husted. Polls currently show Democrats holding a slight lead in both the gubernatorial and senatorial races, though analysts expect the margins to remain tight through election day.