Highlights:
Vivek Ramaswamy has acknowledged that his campaign ran an attack ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, in a controversy that has taken Ohio’s gubernatorial race into deeply personal territory.
The ad, which circulated on social media on Monday night, features Donna Arthur accusing her daughter of being a “liar” and claiming she lies about her past. Acton’s campaign and her brother, Philip Stearns, condemned the advertisement, accusing Ramaswamy’s campaign of crossing a disturbing line by bringing her childhood trauma into the election.
Asked about the advertisement on Tuesday, Ramaswamy reportedly told reporters it was “an ad from our campaign”, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
He defended its message, saying: “Every person who appears to know her the best … have told voters not to vote for her but to vote for me instead.”
His response has intensified the controversy, with critics questioning whether a political campaign should use a candidate’s fractured family relationships and painful childhood experiences to influence voters.
Ramaswamy defends ad as Acton’s brother launches furious attack
Stearns accused Ramaswamy of exploiting the sexual abuse Acton endured as a child. Their stepfather, Cledith Arthur, was charged with raping Acton when she was between 10 and 12 years old, according to court records provided by her campaign. He entered a not-guilty plea.
“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 twelve years old from our birth mother’s husband into a political talking point,” Stearns said.
He also accused the Republican candidate of being willing to hurt others for political advantage, calling the advertisement a “desperate, disgusting attack”.
Stearns said he and Acton were removed from the Arthurs’ custody after their stepfather was arrested and charged, and subsequently went to live with their father. Their mother remained married to Cledith Arthur until his death in 2004, according to Stearns.
Estranged mother calls Acton a “liar”
In the advertisement, Donna Arthur says: “It’s not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy was a serious problem. She is a liar; she lies about her past.”
Acton previously spoke about her childhood abuse and difficult early years, including experiences of poverty and homelessness.
In a 2019 interview with The Youngstown Vindicator, she recalled the final time she saw her mother: “In the courthouse after they were charged, I went to give her a kiss, and she just turned her cheek away.”
Acton’s campaign says that encounter remains their last meeting.
Political backlash grows as questions surround ad
The advertisement initially circulated without a mandatory disclosure identifying who paid for and authorised it. It had not aired on television or cable, but spread widely on social media.
Ramaswamy’s spokesperson, Connie Luck, said the campaign did not know what had happened between Acton and her mother, but accused the Democratic candidate of being a “serial fabulist”.
The controversy comes as Acton has led in polls over the past month, according to the report. The latest dispute has added a deeply personal dimension to the contest, raising questions about the boundaries of political campaigning and the use of family trauma in election messaging.
