With eleven days until Ohio votes, Vivek Ramaswamy’s decision to build an attack ad around the estranged mother of abuse survivor Amy Acton has united Republicans and Democrats against him, supercharged Acton’s fundraising, and left him clinging to cover from Donald Trump and JD Vance.
Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign for Ohio governor is spending $4 million to promote an attack ad featuring Donna Arthur, the estranged mother of Democratic nominee Amy Acton, and the gamble is blowing up in his face less than two weeks before the November 3 election. In the ad, Arthur calls her daughter a “liar,” says she “needs help,” and urges Ohioans not to elect her. Acton has said publicly that her stepfather sexually abused her as a child and that her mother did nothing to protect her; her brother, Philip Stearns, says their mother stayed married to the abuser until his death, and both children were removed from Arthur’s custody.
The backlash has been immediate and bipartisan. Ohio’s sitting Republican governor, Mike DeWine, told reporters in Columbus on Thursday that the ad is “deeply, deeply troubling” and that the Ramaswamy campaign needs to take it down, even as President Trump went the other way and praised the ad as “powerful” on social media, saying he would run one like it himself.
The Ad His Own Party Wants Pulled
The ad first appeared online Tuesday without a political disclaimer, and Ramaswamy’s campaign initially dodged questions about who made it before the candidate confirmed it was theirs. Rather than retreat, the campaign said the spot tested well with persuadable voters and began streaming it statewide Tuesday night, with campaign manager Jonathan Ewing telling Axios it was a “campaign-ending moment for Amy Acton.”
Republicans disagreed loudly. Nikki Haley, who clashed with Ramaswamy when he invoked her daughter during a 2024 presidential debate, called him “a bad guy.” The Columbus Dispatch endorsed Acton on Wednesday and described the ad as “revolting and unsettling.” Casey Putsch, who ran against Ramaswamy in this year’s Republican primary, said he will now vote for Acton, and former GOP congressman Jim Renacci urged Ramaswamy to pivot away from the attack quickly. By midweek, leading Ohio Republicans were distancing themselves from their own nominee in one of the most watched governor’s races in the country.
Stearns called the ad “disgusting,” and Acton’s campaign answered it with a spot of its own featuring her brother defending her account of their childhood.
Trump And Vance Give Him Cover While Ohio Recoils
Vice President JD Vance, campaigning in Ohio on Wednesday, praised Ramaswamy for having the “audacity” to run the ad and told fellow Republicans to “stop whining” about it if they want to win, telling reporters that whether the ad was appropriate “is not really my concern.” Trump followed Thursday with his public defense, leaving the White House and the vice presidency aligned behind an ad that the sitting Republican governor of Ohio says should come off the air.
Democratic condemnation has been just as pointed. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said the decision to exploit the abuse Acton suffered was an appalling display of cruelty, and Acton herself wrote to supporters that Ramaswamy has stooped so low that even Republicans are calling him out.
The Money And The Numbers Are Moving Toward Acton
The clearest sign of a backfire is in the receipts. Acton surged to second place on ActBlue’s trending campaigns, behind only Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, and Illinois first lady MK Pritzker announced a $500,000 donation in direct response to the ad, saying Ohio deserves better than Ramaswamy. Acton had already outraised Ramaswamy for months, pulling in $6.1 million in September to his $3.1 million, though he and allied GOP groups still hold a large advertising advantage.
The polls were tightening against Ramaswamy even before the ad landed. A Marist survey released this week put Acton ahead 50% to 43% among likely voters, with a 53% to 34% lead among independents, and Decision Desk HQ now gives her a 61% chance of winning a state that has not elected a Democratic governor in 20 years. Political scientist Robert Alexander of Bowling Green State University says the ad could backfire by energizing Acton’s supporters in the race’s final stretch, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball called it a risky, desperate move from a candidate who already appears to be behind. Republican anxiety about Ohio fits a broader pattern this cycle, with members of Trump’s own party warning that he is dragging them toward a midterm wipeout up and down the ballot.
Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate, is running to succeed DeWine, who cannot seek another term. Acton, the former director of the Ohio Department of Health, became a household name in the state during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ohioans vote November 3.
