Vivek Ramaswamy launches $4 million ad campaign for controversial video featuring Amy Acton’s ex-mother
Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign is launching a $4 million ad campaign featuring a controversial and viral video of his Democratic opponent’s estranged mother telling voters to reject it.
Ramaswamy’s team confirmed the campaign Tuesday evening, after the video circulated on the Internet and sparked strong reactions from the brother of Ohio Democratic candidate Amy Acton and other Democrats in the state.
The video — which was shared widely on social media, including by the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. — recalls a painful chapter in Acton’s life. She said she hadn’t seen her mother since she was about 12, when a man she married abused her and faced criminal charges.
“She lied her whole life,” says Donna Arthur in this one-minute spot. “My daughter needs help, and she can’t help you if she needs it herself. People can change, but they have to tell the truth first, and my daughter still doesn’t.”
Ramaswamy’s campaign initially did not confirm their involvement in Tuesday’s ad, saying only that Ohioans “deserve to know” what Acton’s mother is saying about her daughter. But later in the day, Ramaswamy confirmed: “This is an ad from our campaign. »
The incendiary spot will air on television and streaming platforms, according to Ramaswamy campaign spokesperson Connie Luck. Axios was first to report the news.
The video was first posted Monday evening by an Ohio political blogger, DJ Byrnes, known as “The Rooster.” Byrnes told CNN he obtained the video from a voter who saw it in a poll and saved it.
On Tuesday morning, Acton’s campaign released a statement from his brother, Philip Stearns, denouncing the video and linking it to Ramaswamy.
“It is no surprise that Vivek Ramaswamy would stoop to such a despicable level in attempting to turn the sexual abuse Amy suffered at the age of twelve at the hands of our biological mother’s husband into a political talking point,” Stearns said. “After he was arrested and Amy and I were removed from their custody, our birth mother remained married to Amy’s rapist until she died.”
Later Tuesday, Acton’s campaign released a new ad in which Stearns made similar points. “Shame on Vivek,” he said on the spot.
When it was first released, the video did not have the standard disclaimer that political ads carry about who paid for or authorized them, nor did it appear Tuesday morning as a paid ad in the race on AdImpact, the political ad tracking service.
And Ramaswamy’s first campaign statement from Luck did not specify whether she was responsible for the video. He suggested voters consider Acton’s mother’s message and reiterated his attack, saying that “we know that Amy Acton is a serial fabulist who has serious problems with the truth that the public needs to be aware of before deciding who to entrust to the governorship.”
The statement goes on to say that people who know Acton well – including “her own mother” – are “clearly warning Ohioans not to vote for her.”
“Ohioans deserve to know this,” Luck said.
An official with V-PAC, the main super PAC supporting Ramaswamy, said the video was not made. CNN has attempted to contact Arthur for more information on how the video was made.
Ramaswamy was heckled at a campaign event Tuesday night by someone appearing to quote the viral video. Seconds after Ramaswamy took the stage at a Columbus-area town hall, an audience member stood up and began yelling at him, referring to “Amy Acton’s mother” and the abuse the candidate says she suffered from her mother’s husband as a young child.
“Sir, if you want to be patient and ask a question at the end, you are free to do so,” Ramaswamy said as the man was escorted outside. “Thank you for your contribution today.”
Speaking to reporters after the event, Ramaswamy took responsibility for the publicity and reiterated that voters should consider what people who know Acton “well” say about her. He said he had never met the mother and that she had “not been paid” for the publicity.
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Protester interrupts Ramaswamy event
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• Source: WSYX
Acton herself spoke out during an interview with WOSU Public Media.
“It’s horrible to see her that way, and it’s even more incredible to see that my opponent (Ramaswamy) took advantage of someone who is clearly not doing well, who is older, and that is totally consistent with who he is,” Acton said.
Sherrod Brown, the Democratic candidate for Ohio Senate, said on X that the video was “disgusting” and that his opponent, Republican Senator Jon Husted, should condemn it. The Democratic Governors Association said in a statement that the video was part of a “relentless smear campaign” by Ramaswamy against Acton.
Acton and Ramaswamy are engaged in one of the most competitive gubernatorial races in the country, vying to replace term-limited Republican Mike DeWine. Advertisements in the race have been particularly nasty, fueling Acton’s controversial decision to refuse to debate Ramaswamy. Vice President JD Vance is expected to travel to Ohio on Wednesday to campaign for Ramaswamy, a source familiar with the matter said.
Acton, the former Ohio public health director, has previously spoken about her estrangement from her mother and her difficult childhood. In a 2019 interview with the Youngstown Vindicator, she said her mother married a man when she was between 9 and 12 years old, who abused her and was facing criminal charges. The family then lived in a tent at a campground outside Youngstown.
According to legal documents provided by the Acton campaign, Acton’s allegations against her stepfather emerged in July 1978 when her father testified to police that his daughter had been sexually assaulted by her stepfather. A day later, her stepfather was arrested for rape. He pleaded not guilty but was indicted by a grand jury in September of that year. In October, prosecutors requested a warrant for his arrest. In the early 1980s, a document shows that authorities were still searching for him, but there is no record of any further action in the case.
“I was lucky that things got bad enough because that allowed me to get through it,” Acton told The Vindicator.
She said the last time she saw her mother was at the courthouse when she tried to kiss her and Acton rejected her.
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