Ohio's Vivek Ramaswamy slammed for 'revolting' campaign ad featuring opponent's estranged mother

The Associated Press

· Posted: Oct 21, 2026 10:21 AM EDT | Last Updated: 18 minutes ago

Republican Vivek Ramaswamy's team has confirmed that it produced a controversial advertisement featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent in Ohio's gubernatorial race — and that the campaign will spend $4 million US to promote it despite facing bipartisan rebuke for dredging up Amy Acton's painful childhood.

The ad introduces a deeply personal element into one of the country's most closely watched and expensive campaigns for state office. Questions about the video will likely shadow Ramaswamy in the final two weeks of the contest, with Democrats branding it as a desperate move.

More than 676,000 people have already cast ballots in Ohio ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms.

The advertisement features Acton's birth mother, Donna Arthur, calling her "a liar" and insinuating she has mental health issues. The ad was first surfaced by the political blog The Rooster.

Arthur lost custody of her children after their stepfather was indicted for raping Acton. The Democratic candidate has not seen her mother, whose last known address was in Pennsylvania, since they were both in a courtroom in 1978.

Connie Luck, a spokesperson for Ramaswamy's campaign, said Acton's mother was not paid for the one-minute video, which she said will stream online and air on television.

Democratic candidate Amy Acton speaks during a campaign event at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, on Sept. 17, (Carolyn Kaster/The Associated Press)

Ramaswamy's campaign initially issued a statement that did not address whether he was responsible for the ad or knew who produced it. In the earlier statement, Luck said Acton was a "serial fabulist who has some serious problems with the truth that the public needs to be aware of."

The video's origins were initially murky when it started circulating online. It did not include the "paid for" tag that is legally required to air on television so viewers can know who produced and paid for it.

Acton, Ohio's former public health director, has made no secret of facing homelessness and abuse as a child. She spent Tuesday condemning Ramaswamy for the ad even before his campaign confirmed its origins.

Acton's campaign also released a statement and video from her brother, Philip Stearns, who said the two were removed from their mother's custody. He recalled his older sister taking "the worst" of the abuse they faced as children in order to protect him

"Shame on Vivek. The contempt he has for Amy is the contempt he has for Ohio. He's not fit to lead," said Stearns.

The Columbus Dispatch, in an editorial Wednesday morning endorsing Acton for governor for several reasons, called the ad "revolting and unsettling." The newspaper condemned the smear from Republicans while the party continues to support Rep. Max Miller, who is campaigning for re-election after being accused of child and spousal abuse by his ex-wife.

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'Pretty damn low'

According to police and court documents obtained by The Associated Press, Cledith Arthur was arrested and charged with the rape of his stepdaughter, then 12, in July 1978, after Acton's biological father reported him to authorities. The abuse allegedly happened between 1976 and 1978.

Cledith Arthur pleaded not guilty but was out and bail and fled the state. He died in 2004, never having faced trial in the case.

High-profile Republicans who back Ramaswamy — including Donald Trump Jr. and influencer Laura Loomer — elevated his video in online posts.

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But others joined Democrats in condemning the ad. Pundit Meghan McCain called it "dastardly" and Dan Hauser, a strategist for Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, said he deleted his post sharing the video once he realized "the very serious accusations that caused their issues."

Casey Putsch, a car designer and YouTube provocateur who competed in the Republican primary earlier this year against Ramaswamy, said on social media that he would be voting for Acton in the wake of the ad's release.

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Putsch — who earlier this year sported a rifle in a campaign ad in which he invited Ramaswamy to play a game of "cowboys and Indians" — called the Arthur video "pretty damn low."

Ramaswamy, 41, is a biotech billionaire born to parents from India. He has never before held public office, but ran for president in 2024, dropping out to give Donald Trump his endorsement after finishing fourth in the Iowa caucuses.

Trump tapped Ramaswamy and Elon Musk to lead an effort to root out federal government inefficiencies, but the Cincinnati native stepped down before that DOGE project began in earnest, to concentrate on running for governor.