As Ohio’s Nov. 3 governor’s election nears, Vice President JD Vance urged Republicans to concentrate on winning after party members criticized an ad from Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign featuring his Democratic opponent’s estranged mother.
Speaking at a Cincinnati news conference on Oct. 21, Vance said the ad’s appropriateness was “not really my concern.” He called himself “a little bit disgusted” with Republicans he saw as more troubled by the video than by Democrats’ plans for the state. Vance urged Republicans to focus on winning the election.
The roughly 60-second video features Donna Arthur calling her daughter, Dr. Amy Acton, a liar and disputing Acton’s account of living in a tent as a child. Ramaswamy confirmed on Oct. 20 that his campaign made the ad. The campaign said it plans to spend $4 million promoting the video in the race’s final weeks. The Statehouse News Bureau reported that the campaign said the ad tested well with “persuadable” voters.
Acton spoke in a 2019 interview about living in a tent and experiencing abuse during childhood. Police and court records separately reviewed by The Associated Press and the Statehouse News Bureau show her stepfather was charged with rape in 1978. Acton has said she last saw Arthur when she was 12.
Acton’s campaign said the ad turned her childhood into a political attack and released a response video featuring her brother, who criticized Ramaswamy’s use of their family history. Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted told AP, “I would not have run that ad,” the news agency reported. Early in-person voting began Oct. 6, and Ohio’s general election is Nov. 3.
