Ohio Gubernatorial Race Erupts Over Attack Ad Featuring Acton's Mother
Donna Arthur released a video calling her daughter, Democratic candidate Amy Acton, a liar, sparking accusations that Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign is exploiting childhood trauma.
A contentious battle has emerged in the Ohio gubernatorial race after Donna Arthur released a video urging voters to reject her daughter, Democratic nominee Amy Acton. In the footage, which has been linked to the campaign of Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy, Arthur characterizes Acton as a liar and specifically disputes her daughter's claims of childhood hunger, neglect, and living in a tent.
Philip Stearns, Acton's brother, condemned the video as a personal attack and a despicable low. Stearns corroborated Acton's accounts of childhood trauma, stating that Acton was sexually abused at age 12 by Arthur's husband and that the siblings were removed from Arthur's custody after the stepfather was charged with rape in 1978. Stearns further alleged that Arthur remained married to the abuser until his death.
While Republicans have described the video as a bombshell, the Ramaswamy campaign has not confirmed if it produced the ad or if Arthur was paid for her appearance. This controversy follows separate allegations that another Ramaswamy campaign ad featured a convicted child sex offender, footage the campaign claims to have removed. Ramaswamy has also criticized Acton's previous tenure as the director of the Ohio Department of Health, asserting she failed to provide correct facts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
