A new attack ad in the Ohio governors race features the mother of the Democratic candidate, Amy Acton — estranged from her daughter over allegations of molestation by a stepfather — calling the candidate a liar.
Republicans hailed the ad, which began circulating on social media Monday night, as a bombshell, while Democrats called it a new low by Dr. Acton’s opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, in a campaign that was already one of the nation’s ugliest. Dr. Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, condemned it as “a despicable low.”
Donna Arthur, Dr. Acton’s mother, says in the ad, “Don’t let her become your governor. If you think she’ll make your life better, you’re fooling yourself.”
On the campaign trail and during her time as the director of the Ohio Department of Health, Dr. Acton has shared details of a troubled childhood in which was homeless for a time and was molested by her stepfather.
In 2019, Dr. Acton gave an interview to The Vindicator, the since-folded daily newspaper of Youngstown, Ohio, in which she disclosed being sexually abused between the ages of 9 and 12. In 1978, after her biological father made a report to police, her stepfather was charged with rape and indicted by a grand jury. He pleaded not guilty.
In 2020, Ms. Arthur came forward to a conservative website to say her daughter’s claims of homelessness were exaggerated. Ms. Arthur shared that after her husband was arrested, Dr. Acton testified against him in court. Ms. Arthur supported her husband, rather than her daughter.
In the new ad, Ms. Arthur does not refer to the allegations of molestation. Instead, she dismisses Dr. Acton’s story that she lived in a tent as a child.
Both women have said that they have not seen or spoken to each other since that day in court in 1978.
Mr. Stearns, Dr. Acton’s brother, said in a statement Tuesday that he and his sister were removed from their mother’s custody after the arrest.
“Our birth mother stayed married to Amy’s rapist until he died,” Mr. Stearns said. “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.”
Mr. Ramaswamy’s campaign did not immediately respond to questions about the ad, including whether Ms. Arthur was paid to participate. It is unclear if the ad came from Mr. Ramaswamy’s campaign or another organization that is backing his race.
Democrats have attacked Mr. Ramaswamy for a separate ad that a political website pointed out shows a man convicted of child sexual abuse. The spot was focused on a woman named Patty, who was nearly in tears over increases in property taxes and said she was afraid that she would lose her home. It showed Mr. Ramaswamy meeting Patty at a state fair, while her husband stood beside her.
Last week, The Bulwark reported that her husband was Vernon Edwards, a registered sex offender convicted in 2006 of “gross sexual imposition” with a victim under the age of 13.
Mr. Ramaswamy’s campaign later said it removed clips of Mr. Edwards from the ad, but according to AdImpact, the ad is still running unchanged.
Family members, such as President Trump’s niece Mary Trump, the siblings of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the siblings of Representative Paul Gosar, Republican of Arizona, have stepped forward in past campaigns to oppose their kin.
But few cases have been so visceral as the anti-Acton ad. Republicans had already attacked Dr. Acton in starkly personal terms, presenting her as a violent drunk, inflating the events of a single night in the Columbus, Ohio, suburbs in late August 2019 when police were dispatched to Dr. Acton’s house, but no charges were filed.
The Acton campaign has presented Mr. Ramaswamy as a con man and out-of-touch billionaire.
Whether yet another attack ad will have a meaningful impact on the race is unclear, said Melissa K. Miller, a Bowling Green State University professor who has been closely watching the race. This late in October, she said, voters are quick to tune out the endless political commercials on their televisions, and many have already made up their mind about who they want to be their next governor.
Campbell Robertson contributed reporting.
The post Attack Ad Featuring Candidate’s Mother Turns Ohio Governors Race Even Uglier appeared first on New York Times.
