By Salma El-Sakka
Republican nominee for Ohio governor Vivek Ramaswamy confirmed Thursday that his campaign has stopped airing an attack advertisement featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton. The ad sparked widespread revulsion after court records revealed that Acton's mother, Donna Arthur, lost custody of her daughter in 1978 when her second husband, Cledith Arthur, was charged with raping Acton between the ages of 10 and 12.
Campaign shifts focus to policy
Asked by a reporter in Vandalia, Ohio, whether the campaign had halted the ad, Ramaswamy said it had "run to completion" and that four other ads were now airing. He added that he would prefer the race to center on policy and criticized Acton for declining to debate him.
Ad drew bipartisan condemnation
Ramaswamy's campaign had announced a $4 million broadcast buy for the spot last week despite criticism from Democrats and Republicans. Court records showed that Arthur fled the state with her husband when her daughter accused him of rape. In a 2020 interview with the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, Arthur said she knew before marrying Cledith Arthur that he had previously been accused of raping his own daughter.
Trump defended the advertisement
Donald Trump repeatedly defended the ad, including at a rally with Ramaswamy on Wednesday, while refusing to acknowledge the relevance of the child rape allegation to the mother's credibility. The campaign edited the original 60-second version down to 30 seconds, removing Arthur's claim that her daughter lied about the family living in a tent with Cledith Arthur. Court records from the time indicated Cledith Arthur was indeed living in a tent when arrested on rape charges.
Questions raised about mother's circumstances
Reporting from NBC News and Zeteo suggests Arthur has faced mental health challenges and was found living in her car with dozens of cats, a detail that troubled some people involved in producing the ad for Ramaswamy's campaign.
Acton responds with personal account
Acton's campaign released a new ad Thursday asking voters, "How far will Vivek Ramaswamy go?" At an event the same day, Acton described a childhood marked by abuse, neglect, and time in children's services, including living in a tent during winter. She accused Ramaswamy of exploiting her trauma to salvage a struggling campaign and said the tactic would not succeed.
