Ramaswamy ad exploiting opponent’s family rift could backfire, observers say

Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign is drawing criticism from opponents and questions from some Republicans after creating a minute-long ad featuring the estranged mother of Amy Acton, his Democratic opponent in the Ohio governor’s race. The ad features Acton’s mother calling her daughter a liar and urging people not to vote for her.  

“Before this ad dropped, Vivek had great momentum on his side and was likely to win narrowly. That might still happen, but I think there’s a good chance this ad will backfire,” Joshua Mercer, vice president of advocacy at CatholicVote, said in comments to Zeale News.

The video shows Acton’s mother Donna Arthur calling Acton “a liar.” 

Acton, 60, has not seen her mother since childhood. In a Facebook statement after the ad’s release, Acton wrote that “between the ages of 10 and 12, I was sexually abused by [Arthur’s] husband, while my birth mother did nothing to protect me.” 

Court records show Acton’s stepfather pleaded not guilty after a September 1978 indictment, remained a fugitive until at least 1981, and has since died, AP News reported. Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, said in a campaign statement that the children were removed from their mother’s custody after the stepfather was charged with raping Acton at age 12. Her campaign has also released a new ad featuring Stearns speaking out about the family estrangement and their stepfather’s abuse. 

“Ramaswamy has turned this tragedy into a talking point for his campaign,” the ad reads. 

The video of Acton’s mother began circulating late on Oct. 19 without a “paid for” disclosure, but in subsequent comments to multiple outlets Ramaswamy’s campaign acknowledged the ad came from them. Catholic political commentator Michael Knowles said on his Oct. 21 show that based on reports, the ad was being tested by Ramaswamy’s campaign, and it leaked before the ad’s testing was done. 

Speaking to NBC 4 at an Oct. 20 town hall event in Westerville, Ohio, Ramaswamy acknowledged that the ad came from his campaign. He said that he would “love for the campaign to be about the substantive issues that impact Ohioans,” but that Acton wouldn’t engage in debate about the issues and has been spreading “defamatory, disparaging lies about me and my family” that should be scrutinized. Ramaswamy added that he has never met Acton or her mother and said Acton’s mother was not compensated.   

Ramaswamy also reposted a video of Vice President JD Vance weighing in on the controversy during an Ohio campaign rally. Vance said Ramaswamy is a good friend of his and that he has watched Democrats lie about Ramaswamy and his family throughout the campaign season, and Ramaswamy has focused his campaign on his goals for Ohio.

"And now, the media, and the Democrats in the state of Ohio are obsessed because, guess what, Vivek Ramaswamy had the audacity to run a TV commercial which calls it out like it is, and calls Amy Acton a liar," Vance said. "And my message, ladies and gentleman, is very simple: whatever you think about any of the TV advertisements, focus on the substance and focus on the facts." Vance then outlined several policies Acton has supported, such as requiring masks for children.

Further Republican reaction has been mixed. Republican strategist David Urban warned on CNN that the ad could backfire, while Donald Trump Jr. urged people to watch it. 

Author and commentator Peachy Keenan posted on X that it’s “un-American to exploit a broken mother-daughter relationship like this esp [sic] if it's true what her mother did to her.” 

Similar comments were made by Robby Starbuck, a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, who said, “I think this will hurt Vivek who I believe was on track to win. Still could but I don’t think this helps him. The story is weird when you look into it and the Mom lost custody of both kids which raises red flags about her and her background. That will get around via word of mouth and it makes the ad feel extra slimy.”

A Marist poll conducted Oct. 15-18 found Acton leading Ramaswamy 50% to 43% among likely voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. Even so, more likely voters in the Marist poll expected Ramaswamy to win the election (49%) than expected Acton to win (45%).