Ohio Republican Mike Turner says he didn’t see his House loss coming. He believes Vivek Ramaswamy may have cost him the seat: ‘Lightning strike’

Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio said he was surprised by his defeat in the race for the 10th Congressional District. In an interview with CNN’s Pamela Brown, the longtime Republican lawmaker pointed to a late advertisement from Vivek Ramaswamy, the party’s candidate for governor, as a possible factor in the outcome.

Turner said the ad landed with unusual force in the final stretch. “That final ad from Vivek really was kind of a lightning strike at the end, and it had an impact up and down the ticket in all the races,” he told Brown.

He noted that the spot arrived while Democrats were already performing strongly statewide. “An ad like that, certainly at a time in a Blue wave where the water level is already high, can have outcomes that are many times unexpected,” Turner said. He added, “Absolutely that was the margin at the end.”

Close results in the 10th District and Democratic victories in the statewide races

According to The Hill, Democrat Kristina Knickerbocker defeated Turner by a narrow margin of 49.3 percent to 47.7 percent. Before Election Day, the Decision Desk HQ forecast had listed the Republican’s chance of winning the seat at 87 percent.

Turner first entered Congress in 2002 and completed 12 terms in the House. Across those earlier contests, he never finished with less than 56 percent of the vote.

The district had favored Republicans in the previous cycle as well. President Trump carried it by just under 8 points in 2024, and Turner secured reelection that year by nearly 20 points.

Democrats captured both the governorship and a U.S. Senate seat in Ohio this year. Ramaswamy closed his campaign with an advertisement that featured the estranged mother of his opponent, Amy Acton. In the spot, the mother accuses Acton of being a liar and asks Ohio voters not to support her.

Members of both parties criticized the advertisement. Some observers said it may have damaged Ramaswamy’s chances. His election odds crashed after the ad aired. Acton has stated that she was sexually abused by her stepfather at a young age and that her mother subsequently lost custody of her. Reports indicated that the mother remained with the abuser until his death.

Acton defeated Ramaswamy 52 percent to 44 percent, an 8-point margin. That spread exceeded the 5-point edge by which Sen.-elect Sherrod Brown beat incumbent Sen. Jon Husted. A poll showed the ad pushed voters away. After the results were clear, Acton said she had “no intention” of speaking with Ramaswamy.

Two other House Republicans also lost their seats in Ohio. Mike Carey was defeated in the neighboring 15th District, and Max Miller lost in the 7th District after his campaign faced a scandal.

State law required Ohio to redraw its congressional boundaries ahead of the midterms. The new map was expected to place two seats held by Democrats in greater danger, yet both of those incumbents won reelection. At the same time, Republicans lost three additional seats that had not been widely viewed as competitive.