Did Vivek Ramaswamy’s attack ad against Amy Acton backfire? | News 2026 US midterm elections

An attack ad by Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy targeting his Democratic opponent Amy Acton has drawn criticism from within his own party, less than two weeks before the November 3 midterm elections in the United States.

The ad features Acton’s ex-mother accusing Acton of being a liar.

Ramaswamy refused to remove the ad, even though senior Republican officials called for it to be removed.

So what does the ad show, why has it sparked controversy, and could it affect the Ohio gubernatorial race?

Here’s what we know:

What does Vivek Ramaswamy’s ad show?

The ad, which began circulating online Monday, features Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, accusing her daughter of lying about her childhood and suggesting she suffered from mental illness.

“It’s not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy has a serious problem. She’s a liar. She lies about her past,” Arthur said in the video.

Arthur also disputed Acton’s account that she experienced homelessness and lived in a tent as a child, as she urged Ohioans not to vote for her daughter.

However, the announcement does not mention that the two have been estranged since 1978, when Acton was 12 and she was removed from her mother’s custody after her stepfather was accused of raping her.

His stepfather pleaded not guilty but did not appear in court and was never tried. Acton and his brother have publicly described the abuse they suffered as children.

Court records and news reports from the time support key elements of Acton’s account of his childhood. FactCheck.org also found documents linking his father-in-law to the campground where Acton said his family lived in a tent, contradicting Arthur’s assertion that the family never lived there.

Arthur remained married to Acton’s father-in-law until his death.

On Tuesday, Ramaswamy’s campaign confirmed it was behind the ad and announced plans to spend $4 million to promote it.

Why did the ad spark controversy?

On Tuesday, Acton’s campaign released a statement recounting his childhood and an ad response featuring his brother, Phil Stearns.

“I got a lot of abuse, but Amy always got the worst,” Stearns said. “She continued to endure this abuse because she knew she had to protect me.”

The use of Acton’s family history raised the question of how far political campaigns should go in attacking opponents.

David Niven, a political science professor at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, told Al Jazeera that while campaigns have used relatives to criticize candidates before, this ad was particularly unusual.

“We’ve seen family members used before, but not in such a deeply personal way,” Niven said.

“So we sometimes see a family member talking about disagreements, you know, talking about a different kind of political vision, but not this level of personal destruction. That’s what’s unprecedented here.”

How did Trump and other Republicans react?

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance defended Ramaswamy while other high-ranking Republicans called for the ad to be taken down.

On Thursday, Trump called the ad “very powerful” and said he encouraged Ramaswamy to continue airing it. Vance asked Republicans to “stop complaining” about the controversy and focus on winning the election.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who supported Ramaswamy, called the ad “deeply, deeply disturbing” and called for it to be taken down although he maintained his support.

Ohio Sen. Jon Husted also distanced himself from the ad.

Niven said the disagreement reflected a broader divide between mainstream Republicans and the Trump-aligned wing of the party.

“So there’s a real divide between the Republican Party as it traditionally was, which had some sort of standard, and the Republican Party of Trump and Vance that will say anything at any time, regardless of, you know, the convenience of it.”

Ramaswamy refused to remove the ad.

Who are Vivek Ramaswamy and Amy Acton?

Vivek Ramaswamy, 41, is a Republican businessman and former biotechnology executive who ran for the party’s nomination for president in 2024 before supporting Trump.

Born and raised in Ohio, he is running for governor with the president’s support.

Amy Acton, 60, is a physician and former director of the Ohio Department of Health, known nationally for leading the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic under DeWine’s leadership.

Raised in Youngstown, she has spoken publicly about poverty, homelessness and abuse during her childhood.

Neither candidate has previously held elected office.

Could advertising backfire?

The ad could generate sympathy for Acton, particularly among sexual abuse survivors and their families, political analysts say.

“Every negative attack carries a risk of blowback,” Jerry Miller, a communications studies professor and political advertising expert at Ohio University, told Al Jazeera.

He said campaigns sometimes use controversial ads to energize their supporters, even at the risk of alienating other voters.

“I believe this ad will generate a level of empathy, particularly from survivors of sexual assault and their families who have had to deal with these issues,” he added.

Trump has weathered numerous political controversies without losing support from his base, but Niven said Ramaswamy may have a harder time overcoming this one.

“What Trump has mastered is that he is always involved in a hundred controversies at a time,” he said. “So you kind of lose track of one controversy because it gets replaced by another one very quickly afterward.”

But Ramaswamy may not have that advantage.

“The problem for Ramaswamy is that this is the only thing people are going to see and hear. He’s not going to be able to pull off the kind of distraction game of the Trump controversy,” Niven added.

Why is controversy important to the Ohio gubernatorial race?

The controversy comes as Acton leads in several recent polls, although some polls suggest a closer contest.

On Friday, the Cook Political Report changed the race from a toss-up to leaning toward Acton. He cited the fallout from publicity. His analysts said the race was already heading to Acton and the controversy had boosted their assessment.

This backlash also generated financial support for Acton, including a $500,000 donation from MK Pritzker, wife of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.

Hundreds of Ohioans have already voted early, and it remains unclear whether the controversy would sway undecided voters.

“What is already clear is that the controversy has taken on a life of its own, becoming a major factor in this campaign, independent of the ad that sparked it,” Miller told Al Jazeera.

Ohio is an important battleground for the November 3 election. Once considered a swing state, it has voted for Trump in the last three presidential elections and Republicans have held the governorship since 2011. An Acton victory would make her the state’s first Democratic governor in 20 years.