Ohio Democrat Rips Vivek Ramaswamy For Using Estranged And Abusive Mother In 'Disgusting' Attack Ad

*Trigger Warning: this article contains mentions of child sexual abuse

Democratic Ohio gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton and her brother criticized billionaire entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, her GOP opponent, after he used their estranged mother in a political attack ad.

Acton has long said that she became estranged from her mother when she was a child, after her stepfather was charged with raping her at age 12. He pleaded not guilty, according to decades-old court records published by the Acton campaign, and reportedly later fled the state.

Although Acton has not discussed the childhood abuse during her campaign, she recounted the painful final encounter with her mother in a 2019 interview with The Youngstown Vindicator, recalling that "in the courthouse after they were charged, I went to give her a kiss, and she just turned her cheek away. That was the last time I ever saw her."

But now Ramaswamy's campaign has dropped an ad featuring Acton's mother, Donna Arthur, urging Ohio voters not to vote for her daughter on November 3, at one point saying:

"I love my daughter, but when I saw her lying about her opponent — and it's not easy for a mother to say this — that Amy has a serious problem. Amy is a liar. She lies about her past. ... She's lied her entire life. My daughter needs help." ...

“Don’t let her become your governor. If you think she’ll make your life better, you’re fooling yourself. It will only get worse.”

You can see the ad below.

Facing criticism for the ad, Ramaswamy's campaign spokesperson Connie Luck said the following in a statement to Politico:

“We don't know what happened between Amy and her mother, who first spoke out about Amy in 2020, but we know that Amy Acton is a serial fabulist who has some serious problems with the truth that the public needs to be aware of before deciding who to entrust as governor." ...

"Everyone who knows her best — her former boss, her former state colleagues, her fellow physicians, and now her own mother — are clearly warning Ohioans not to vote for her."

Shortly afterward, Acton responded to the ad and criticized Ramaswamy in an appearance on Spectrum News, saying:

“I won’t normalize somebody who has said that my childhood is just something I’m complaining about, who today just released an ad using my birth mother, who I was removed from at the age of 12 for severe abuse and neglect and sexual abuse. My brother and I were removed."

"I just can't normalize somebody who calls me things like a socialist, which I'm not, and then follows that statement by saying the Second Amendment was made for times like these to eradicate socialism, to get rid of socialists, that's what I am made for."

"The words our leaders use matter, and I think it's going to take courage right now from all of us to stop normalizing this sort of rhetoric. People need to see that this is a pattern. It was a pattern in the presidential debates."

"You know, I remember Chris Christie going at it with him. I remember Nikki Haley, because he was such a liar and he was attacking Nikki Haley's 14-year-old daughter on air during a presidential debates. You know, this is a lifelong pattern with my opponent."

You can hear what she said in t.he video below.

Acton's brother, Philip Stearns, also issued an official statement that was disseminated by Acton's campaign:

"It's not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at twelve years old from our birth mother's husband into a political talking point."

"After he was arrested and Amy and I were removed from their custody, our birth mother stayed married to Amy's rapist until he died. This desperate, disgusting attack reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core — a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants."

You can see the post and the statement below.

@amyactonoh/X

Critics have condemned Ramaswamy in response.

Ramaswamy remains unrepentant. People of Ohio, you can stop him in his tracks on November 3.