As the ad opens, an elderly woman looks with sad eyes into the camera and says, "My name is Donna Arthur, and I'm Amy Acton's mother." Over the next minute, she calls Ohio's Democratic nominee for governor—her own daughter—a "liar," disputes her account of being homeless as a child and urges Ohioans to vote against her. This stunning intervention—on behalf of Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy—surfaced online late Monday with no sponsor named. Taken at face value, it is the kind of ad that instinctively feels like it could swing an election.
But, quickly, a series of facts emerged that cast the video, and the Ramaswamy campaign, in a whole new, unedifying light. Acton has said her stepfather sexually abused her and that her mother sided with him. Court records show the stepfather was charged in 1978 with raping Acton, then 12.
He was indicted, skipped a court hearing and remained a fugitive until at least 1981. Never convicted, he has since died. Arthur lost custody of her children, and Acton says she has not seen her since they shared a courtroom that year.
The ad asks voters to take that mother's word over her daughter's. Few, it seems, are buying it. Many people are appalled.
Yet, by Tuesday night, Ramaswamy's campaign had claimed the ad and said it would spend $4 million promoting it, doubling down despite the fierce backlash. The ad has drawn condemnation from Democrats and, more tellingly, from the right. Meghan McCain called it "dastardly" and cast "shame" on those who made it.
Mary Katharine Ham said it seemed "crazy" to assume the ad would "work and not backfire." Lydia Mihalik, appointed by Republican Governor Mike DeWine to run the state's Development Department, wrote that it crossed a line. Casey Putsch, who ran against Ramaswamy in the GOP primary, said he would now vote for Acton. The Ramaswamy campaign is unrepentant.
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