Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) called for Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy to withdraw a campaign advertisement featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton. The ad, which first circulated on social media on Monday, October 19, features Donna Arthur calling her daughter a "liar" and disputing Acton's past accounts of homelessness and neglect. DeWine described the ad on Thursday, October 22, as "deeply, deeply troubling," citing the backstory of alleged abuse involving Acton’s childhood.
Acton, a former state health commissioner, has previously stated she was abused by her late stepfather, Cledith Arthur. According to campaign documents and court records, Cledith Arthur was charged in 1978 with raping Acton when she was between 10 and 12 years old. He pleaded not guilty and left the area while out on bond, and the case never went to trial before his death in 2004. Acton has stated she has not been in touch with her mother since a court date following the 1978 arrest.
The Ramaswamy campaign confirmed on Tuesday, October 20, that it produced the ad and later pledged to spend $4 million to air it. Campaign spokesperson Connie Luck defended the video, stating that Donna Arthur was speaking out about a "pattern of lying—not abuse." Vice President JD Vance also defended the campaign's tactics while appearing in Ohio on Wednesday, October 21, telling reporters that Republicans should "stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race."
The scale of the media campaign is significant, with the Ramaswamy campaign committing $4 million to broadcast the footage statewide. For an average Ohio household, this represents a saturation of high-conflict messaging in the final 13 days of the election cycle. The ad's focus on a candidate's estranged family and past allegations of sexual assault has prompted public responses from high-ranking officials including the Vice President, the sitting Governor, and former President Donald Trump, who stated he knew nothing about the ad but called the family situation "unusual."
The controversy has also drawn in other statewide candidates. Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) and Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R-OH), both in active races, publicly distanced themselves from the ad's content. Acton responded by releasing her own video featuring her brother, Philip Stearns, who corroborated her accounts of childhood abuse. The election is scheduled for November 3, 2026, where voters will choose between Ramaswamy and Acton to succeed the term-limited DeWine.