According to Rolling Stone, Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has launched an attack ad featuring Donna Arthur, Amy Acton's estranged biological mother, claiming the Democratic nominee is a "serial liar." Arthur remained married to the man who sexually abused Acton when she was twelve years old.
Philip Stearns, Acton's brother, responded on Tuesday. "It is not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at twelve years old from our birth mother's husband into a political talking point," he wrote in a statement. He added that Ramaswamy is "a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants."
Acton's abuser, Cledith Arthur, was arrested in 1978 on charges related to her rape but fled Ohio to escape prosecution. He died in 2004. Acton's mother stayed married to him throughout, the reason for their estrangement.
Ramaswamy's team either knew what they were doing, using a victim's family dysfunction against her, or they failed to conduct basic opposition research. The campaign has not confirmed whether they produced the ad directly or through allied super PACs. When Rolling Stone reached out, they initially did not respond for comment.
When pressed, the Ramaswamy campaign told The Cincinnati Enquirer they're "not sure" what happened between Acton and her mother, then attacked Acton as a "serial fabulist." A candidate's childhood trauma has become a 60-second political weapon.
This is the kind of move that defines a campaign. Ramaswamy handed Acton's supporters a rallying cry, and voters who were undecided just got a clear view of what ruthlessness looks like.
The question: Will Ohio voters see this as hardball politics or as crossing a line?
