Vivek Ramaswamy Defends Controversial Campaign Ad Featuring Amy Acton’s Estranged Mother

Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has defended a controversial political advertisement featuring his Democratic opponent Amy Acton’s estranged mother, acknowledging on Tuesday night that his campaign was behind the release.

The one-minute campaign spot features Donna Arthur, Acton’s mother, who accuses her daughter of being a liar and disputes claims of childhood abuse and homelessness. Speaking to reporters, including local outlet NBC4 Columbus, Ramaswamy confirmed his campaign’s involvement and defended the decision to air the commercial.

“It is an ad from our campaign,” Ramaswamy said, addressing the commercial directly. “I would love for this race and this election to be about the substantive issues that impact Ohioans, and unfortunately, Amy Acton has been hiding from those issues.”

The biotech entrepreneur and former 2024 Republican presidential primary candidate argued that the ad was a direct response to Acton’s refusal to participate in debates and what he characterized as disparaging falsehoods directed at him and his family.

“She won’t debate me. She doesn’t allow cameras at her events, and I think her record of continuously, certainly during this campaign, I would say spreading some defamatory, disparaging lies about me and my family, that does deserve to be scrutinized,” Ramaswamy told reporters.

In the advertisement, Arthur directly challenges her daughter’s accounts of her upbringing. “She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true,” Arthur states in the spot. “She’s lied her entire life. My daughter needs help.”

Ramaswamy maintained that Arthur received no financial compensation for her appearance in the campaign material and noted that he has never met her.

Acton, who served as the director of the Ohio Department of Health from 2019 through 2020, has been estranged from Arthur since 1978. According to reports, the estrangement began following the arrest of Arthur’s husband, who was charged with raping Acton when she was 12 years old. Acton has also spoken publicly about experiencing childhood homelessness, a claim that Arthur disputes in the ad.

The release of the commercial drew a furious response from Acton’s campaign, including a public statement from her brother, Philip Stearns.

“Vivek Ramaswamy is trying to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at twelve years old from our birth mother’s husband into a political talking point,” Stearns said in the statement. He added that following the arrest and the removal of Acton and himself from the home, their mother remained married to the perpetrator until his death.

“This desperate, disgusting attack reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core — a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants,” Stearns continued.

The gubernatorial race remains competitive despite historical voting trends in the state. Ohio has elected only one Democratic governor, Ted Strickland, since 1990. However, the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate shows Acton holding a narrow 3.7 percentage point lead over Ramaswamy.