Amy Acton condemns Ramaswamy ad featuring estranged mother

Amy Acton, the Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, has condemned Republican rival Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign advertisement featuring her estranged mother, as the dispute draws criticism from within his own party ahead of the 3 November election.

Speaking at a campaign stop on Wednesday evening, Acton called the advertisement “despicable”. BBC News reported that it features her mother, Donna Arthur, accusing Acton of lifelong dishonesty, but leaves out the childhood sexual-abuse case involving Arthur's husband and the subsequent removal of Acton and her brother from their mother's custody.

The advertisement launched on Monday. Ramaswamy took responsibility for it the following day on social media and said his campaign would spend $4 million broadcasting it across Ohio.

The family history omitted from the advertisement

Arthur's husband was charged with raping Acton when she was a child. According to information Acton's campaign gave the broadcaster, Acton last saw her mother in a courtroom in 1978, after her stepfather was indicted.

He fled before standing trial, was never prosecuted and died in 2004. The charge therefore did not result in a trial or conviction. Arthur's accusation about Acton's honesty remains an allegation, not an established finding.

Acton said she had never attacked Ramaswamy's family and would not do so. She also pointed to the impact of the controversy on people who have experienced abuse and trauma.

In a separate advertisement released by Acton earlier in the week, her brother described abuse they experienced as children and criticised Ramaswamy for making sexual assault a campaign issue.

Republicans split over the campaign tactic

Outgoing Republican Governor Mike DeWine, who has endorsed Ramaswamy, reportedly described the advertisement as deeply troubling and urged that it be withdrawn. Acton and Ramaswamy are competing to succeed him.

Former Republican Ohio congressman Jim Renacci warned on Thursday that the controversy could seriously damage the party's governor campaign and that Republicans who did not distance themselves from the advertisement also risked political harm.

Vice-President JD Vance took the opposite position, urging Republicans to stop “whining” and saying he was “a little bit disgusted” by criticism from his own party. President Donald Trump described the mother-daughter hostility as unusual.

The Columbus Dispatch editorial board endorsed Acton after the advertisement appeared, condemning its content. On Wednesday, MK Pritzker, wife of Illinois Democratic Governor JB Pritzker, announced that she would donate $500,000 to support Acton's election effort.

Disclaimer complaints under review; electoral effect uncertain

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said his office was reviewing complaints that the advertisement may initially have aired without the legally required disclaimer identifying who paid for it. That review does not establish that a violation occurred.

A VoteHub poll released on Thursday put Acton one percentage point ahead of Ramaswamy, within the margin of error. The surveys were conducted before the advertisement appeared, so they do not measure its effect on voters.

American University public affairs professor David Lublin suggested the advertisement could reflect an attempt by Ramaswamy's campaign to reverse its momentum. That is an interpretation of the campaign's strategy, not evidence of its internal decision-making.

An Acton victory would make her the first Democrat elected Ohio governor in two decades.