ATLANTIC, Iowa — A half-dozen voters decried negative campaign ads on Saturday at a town hall meeting with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, though voters admitted the ads targeting Gingrich have been successful at souring their impression of the candidate.

“You were doing so well in the polls here until these negative ads came out,” said Eleanor Becker, an Atlantic resident who said she has supported Gingrich since the early 1990s. “But the negative ads make you think — even me.”