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Ramaswamy's Ad Featuring Acton's Mother Draws Backlash
Confirmed
In Short: Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign has released an attack ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother, Donna Arthur, accusing Acton of lying about her childhood.
The Associated Press reported that the video, which surfaced online about two weeks before Election Day, has intensified an already contentious race.
Acton's brother, Philip Stearns, condemned the ad, stating, 'It’s not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at 12 years old from our birth mother’s husband into a political talking point.'
According to AP’s review of police and court documents, Acton’s stepfather was arrested and charged in 1978 after her biological father reported the alleged abuse.
Acton has not seen her mother since they were together in court in 1978, and her brother said the family spent time living in a tent growing up and lost custody of her children after her stepfather was arrested.
Research published in the American Journal of Political Science suggests that negative campaigning can sometimes rebound against the attacker, making that candidate appear less cooperative or capable.
Acton, a physician who previously directed the Ohio Department of Health, suggested that Ramaswamy was behind the attack ad.
Acton holds a 3.7% lead in the race against Ramaswamy, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average, with two weeks before Election Day.
The ad has drawn particular condemnation because it intersects with Acton’s account of childhood sexual abuse and family instability.
Vice President JD Vance told Republicans to 'stop whining' about the ad, while former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley called Ramaswamy 'a bad guy' for releasing it.
The ad, which has now been confirmed to have been generated by Ramaswamy’s campaign, comes as Acton leads the Republican by 50 percent to 43 percent, according to a Marist Poll.
Acton’s campaign slammed the ad featuring her 'abusive and estranged mother' with a written statement from her brother, Philip Stearns, on Tuesday morning.
The video began circulating online after a version without a 'paid for' disclosure was posted Monday by Ohio political blog The Rooster.
What's confirmed
- Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, issued a statement through her campaign condemning the ad.
- Acton has said that her stepfather sexually abused her when she was a child.
- AP also reported that Acton and her brother were removed from their mother’s custody when they were children.
- Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who ran against Ramaswamy for the Republican nomination for president in 2024, said "he's a bad guy. It's a shame he continues to get away with it".
- RELATED: Ramaswamy campaign takes credit for controversial ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother Taylr Ucker-Lauterman, with the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence, said the ad is doing more than fueling a political fight.
- Julie Carr Smyth, Associated Press Julie Carr Smyth, Associated Press Collin Binkley, Associated Press Collin Binkley, Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Vice President JD Vance said during a campaign visit to Ohio on Wednesday that he is "disgusted" by the Republican pushback against an ad by Vivek Ramaswamy that features the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent in the governor's race, Dr. Amy Acton, and raises questions about her traumatic childhood.
- “It’s not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at 12 years old from our birth mother’s husband into a political talking point,” Acton’s brother said in a statement.
What's still developing
- In its October 20 report, The Associated Press said the video features Donna Arthur, Acton’s mother, questioning her daughter’s honesty and disputing her account of growing up in poverty and experiencing periods of homelessness.
- Former View cohost and controversial political commentator Meghan McCain has taken aim at what appears to be a fellow conservative initiative over what she called a “dastardly” attack ad launched against an opponent in the ongoing Ohio gubernatorial race.
- Video above: Video gives new insight into security incident at Amy Acton campaign event "Politics is a tough business," Vance said to reporters.
- The ad, which features Donna Arthur, Acton’s birth mother, calling Acton "a liar," the Associated Press reported. The spot, which premiered on Tuesday, insinuates the Democrat has mental health issues. Criticism to the ad came from both Democrats and Republicans. Republican Sen. John Husted distanced himself from the ad, telling the AP, "I would not have run that ad."
- She later told her father about the abuses, and a grand jury indicted her stepfather.