Good morning. Ohio is the seventh most populous state in the country, and its annual GDP is close to $1 trillion. It has 27 Fortune 500 companies, some of the country’s best universities (pipe down, Michigan), the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and two NFL teams, two MLB teams, an NBA team and an NHL team. The issue currently dominating the governor’s race there is…none of those things.

It’s about horrific allegations regarding Democratic candidate Amy Acton’s childhood and an ad put out by GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. The ad features comments from Acton’s estranged mother. The controversial ad has been elevated by Donald Trump Jr. and—on Wednesday—Vice President JD Vance, who called it “the biggest controversy.”

Politics is tough business, as Vance said Wednesday, and this race has been one of the ugliest in recent memory. For his part, Sen. Jon Husted (R., Ohio) told the Associated Press, “I would not have run that ad.”

Candidates are slugging it out all over the place. Democrat Troy Jackson refused to apologize for telling Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins to “shut up” during a debate. And Texas has been a whole other story.

This has been, in some ways, an unusual midterm election. It isn’t about an “idea” or a “proposal.”It’s been personal from the get-go. A lot of this has been people channeling their feelings about President Trump and manifesting that into how they will vote.

But in a number of states, the candidates are just trying to rip each other apart. If they succeed, the victors won’t emerge from the midterms with a mandate to do anything. They will just emerge bruised and battered.

People and Policies I’m Watching Horse carriage ban: The New York City Council is expected to vote today on banning the over 100-year-old industry.

Steve Witkoff: The U.S. special envoy’s recent praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin shocked Ukraine and its supporters, but it doesn’t surprise close watchers of Witkoff’s handling of the Russia file.

Trump’s Thursday: The president will hold a policy meeting at 12:30 p.m. ET. Then in the afternoon he will head to Sioux City, Iowa, where he will hold a midterm rally this evening. What I’m Following (Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters) Lawmakers are calling for a probe into Elon Musk’s handling of Ukraine’s Starlink. U.S. lawmakers, including at least one Republican, are calling for an investigation into Musk following The Wall Street Journal’s reporting that the SpaceX CEO restricted Ukraine’s access to the company’s Starlink service.

Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania said Congress should call Musk and other witnesses to testify under oath, and that Congress could block funding for any federal agencies or agency heads that played a role in throttling the network.

Middle East mediators are scrambling to revive talks with Iran. Diplomats fear that hostilities could flare again as the U.S. moves another aircraft carrier to the region and Israel warns that it has prepared plans for possible new strikes. Trump has said the U.S. won’t attack Iran before midterms, but he also threatened Sunday on social media that unless Iran rapidly changes its behavior, the U.S. and Israel “will soon finish the job.”

Wealthy donors are fueling Trump’s final midterms push. The Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. super PAC raised about $25 million in the six weeks between Sept. 1 and Oct. 14, mainly from gambling billionaires, chief executives and financiers, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. The filings show that a network of super PACs affiliated with the president spent more than $237 million between September and mid-October on competitive races, including Senate contests in Texas and Michigan. What Else Is Happening A Congressional candidate says he was detained by the Israeli military in the West Bank.

Trump has called on data center operators to make their own electricity, and sell or give back any surplus to their communities.

The Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration must continue providing transgender prisoners with hormone treatment and other gender-related care.

New Mexico filed a civil lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime lawyer and his accountant, accusing the two men of helping finance and conceal Epstein’s sex trafficking at his Zorro Ranch property in the state. What I’m Reading Roger Marshall Sells Florida Vacation House Before Election (Topeka Capital-Journal) Troy Jackson’s Partner Responds to Republican Attack Ads (Portland Press Herald) The Myth of Mamdani the Moderate (The Free Press)

About Me I’m Damian Paletta, The Wall Street Journal’s Washington coverage chief. I’ve covered Washington for 22 years as a reporter and editor. I’ve covered the White House, Congress, national security, the federal budget, economics and multiple market meltdowns.