Daniel Wolfram
The Vice President brushed off bipartisan blowback over the $4 million ad featuring Democrat Amy Acton’s estranged mother, urging the party to focus on winning rather than the optics of the deeply personal attack.
In Ohio, a political controversy erupted this week between the two candidates for governor.
Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy sparked bipartisan outrage after releasing an attack ad starring the estranged mother of his opponent, Democrat Amy Acton.
In the ad, the mother, Donna Arthur, says that her daughter is untrustworthy. “Amy has a serious problem,” Arthur says. “She is a liar. She lies about her past.”
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Two sides of the family feud
The television commercial reopened painful memories dating back nearly half a century. Acton was removed from her mother’s care at twelve following allegations that her late stepfather sexually abused her.
She has not seen her mother in nearly fifty years due to her mother taking her husband’s side and staying with him until he passed away. Acton condemned the attack. “I won’t normalize somebody who has said that my childhood is something I’m just complaining about,” she said, according to the Washington Sun.
In a statement released by the campaign, Acton’s brother Philip Stearns backed the Democrat and called the commercial a desperate attack that weaponized childhood sexual trauma.
Still, Ramaswamy’s team stood by the ad that they had poured $4 million into. Spokesperson Connie Luck told The Associated Press that Arthur was not paid to appear. The ad will start running this weekend.
Stop the whining
Vice President JD Vance, who is originally from Ohio, inserted himself into the fight. At a press conference, Vance dismissed concerns about the optics and relevance of the ad and told fellow Republicans to “stop whining” about it.
“I’ll be honest with you, whether the ad was appropriate or not is not really my concern,” Vance said. “What is my concern is, who is going to govern the next generation of American government?”
Hours later at a rally, Vance doubled down and attacked Acton himself. He praised Ramaswamy for running the ad that “calls it out like it is and calls Amy Acton a liar.” From the stage, Vance also referenced unsubstantiated claims that Acton is an alcoholic and had to step down as state health director in 2020 due to that issue.
However, records tell a different story. The New Yorker reported that Acton resigned during the pandemic over fears of violating her oath to “do no harm.” While Ramaswamy’s allies pointed to a 2019 domestic call about a disturbance at Acton’s home, police records reviewed by the Ohio Capitol Journal showed no evidence of violence or intoxication.
