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Vivek Ramaswamy ad featuring Amy Acton’s estranged mother draws bipartisan condemnation

politicsOct 25, 2026292,856

Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy ran an attack ad featuring Amy Acton’s estranged birth mother, Donna Arthur, who calls Acton "a liar" and insinuates mental-health problems. Acton, Ohio’s COVID-era health director, has publicly recounted childhood abuse, neglect and homelessness; court records cited in coverage say her stepfather was indicted on a rape charge tied to abuse from December 1976 to April 1978 and later became a fugitive. The ad prompted bipartisan condemnation in Ohio, with Republican leaders including Gov. Mike DeWine calling for its removal; Ramaswamy has defended the spot. Former President Barack Obama, campaigning in Ohio to rally Democrats, condemned the ad as proof "there is no line he will not cross, no low he will not sink to" and shared the stage with Acton and Sen. Sherrod Brown. President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance defended the ad; Trump said Acton’s mother offered a solid reference and criticized complaints about the spot. The controversy has become a national midterms flashpoint and intensified attention on the Ohio governor’s race in its closing days.

🌹WeegieFromWA 🍀
@onefussyone.bsky.social

I love it for Ramaswamy that he has tanked his entire political career and made Amy Acton a classic study in courage with one, single ad drop.

Meme type post:
[Image of Amy Acton with Vivek Ramaswamy in the background] I didn't know anything about
Amy Acton's childhood before
today. Now I would run
through a brick wall for her.
23078h ago
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