Vivek Ramaswamy is accepting responsibility for a contentious attack ad featuring Amy Acton’s estranged mother, as the $4 million campaign effort triggers growing backlash from members of his own party.
The unusually personal advertisement shows Donna Arthur accusing her daughter of misrepresenting their family history. Arthur also challenges Acton’s public account of growing up in poverty and, at times, living in a tent.
The ad concludes with Arthur telling voters not to elect Acton as governor.
Ramaswamy confirmed during questioning by reporters on Tuesday that his campaign produced the advertisement. He defended the decision to broadcast it, despite criticism from fellow conservatives.
‘It is an ad from our campaign. And the thing that I want to say is that I would love for this race, in this election, to be about the substantive issues that impact Ohioans,’ Ramaswamy said.
‘And unfortunately, Amy Acton has been hiding from those issues.’
Later that evening, a protester interrupted a Ramaswamy campaign event by shouting about the ad. Police eventually escorted the attendee from the gathering.
Ramaswamy’s campaign said Arthur was not paid for her appearance in the advertisement, which began spreading online Monday, October 19.
Vivek Ramaswamy was heckled by an attendee at a Tuesday evening rally, with the protester ultimately removed after shouting about his attack ad targeting Amy Acton
The ad focuses on deeply personal events Acton has discussed publicly, including sexual abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of her stepfather. Acton has been estranged from her mother since she was 12
The campaign said the commercial performed strongly in testing among persuadable voters, leading it to plan a $4 million advertising campaign across television and streaming services.
Opponents, however, accuse Ramaswamy of using Acton’s traumatic childhood as a political weapon.
The dispute centers on painful experiences Acton has previously made public, including her account of being sexually abused as a child by her stepfather.
Court records cited by the Associated Press indicate that the man was charged and indicted in 1978 for raping his 12-year-old stepdaughter.
He pleaded not guilty, then failed to appear in court and was subsequently declared a fugitive.
Acton and her brother were eventually taken out of their mother’s custody.
Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, has backed her account of their childhood. He also released his own attack ad criticizing Ramaswamy for bringing the family’s history into the governor’s race.
‘Shame on Vivek. The contempt he has for Amy is the contempt he has for Ohio. He’s not fit to lead,’ Stearns said.
Acton’s campaign released a statement from her brother condemning the attacks involving their mother
Donald Trump Jr. shared the video and encouraged Ohio voters to watch it. ‘Yikes! Ohio watch this and think about what it means,’ he wrote on X
CNN commentator and GOP strategist Scott Jennings called the ad ‘extremely risky,’ warning that the campaign may have underestimated the backlash it would provoke
Acton also denounced Ramaswamy’s ad after it aired, saying she had not seen her mother since childhood.
‘The words our leaders use matter, and I think it’s going to take courage right now from all of us to stop normalizing this sort of rhetoric,’ she told Spectrum News Ohio.
The backlash has spread beyond Acton’s family, exposing divisions among Republicans over whether the ad will help or hurt Ramaswamy in the final stretch of the campaign.
CNN commentator and GOP strategist Scott Jennings called the ad ‘extremely risky,’ warning that the campaign may have underestimated the backlash it would provoke.
Casey Putsch, who ran against Ramaswamy in the Republican gubernatorial primary, said he would vote for Acton after seeing the video.
Republican strategist and former adviser to President Trump, David Urban warned on CNN that the attack could backfire.
Conservative commentator Mary Katharine Ham questioned whether featuring an estranged mother attacking her daughter would persuade voters.
Donald Trump Jr, however, shared the video and urged Ohioans to watch it.
‘Yikes! Ohio watch this and think about what it means,’ he wrote on X.
Ramaswamy’s campaign initially did not confirm responsibility.
A mid-October Marist poll cited by Axios put Acton ahead of Ramaswamy by 50 per cent to 43 per cent among likely voters.
More than 676,000 Ohioans had already cast ballots by Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.
Our News Outlet reached out to Ramaswamy and Acton’s campaigns for comment.
