Late Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, the campaign of Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy confirmed it produced a video featuring the estranged birth mother of his Democratic opponent, Dr. Amy Acton. The video shows Donna Arthur, Acton’s mother, calling her daughter "a liar" and disputing Acton’s account of childhood abuse and homelessness. Despite criticism from figures in both parties, the Ramaswamy campaign announced it plans to spend $4 million to promote the advertisement through online streaming and television broadcasts.
The advertisement first appeared on social media via an Ohio political blog without a "paid for" disclaimer, which is required for broadcast television. Acton, who served as Ohio’s public health director under Republican Governor Mike DeWine, has frequently shared her history of experiencing childhood abuse and homelessness. Her campaign and her brother, Philip Stearns, condemned the video as an exploitation of personal trauma, noting that Acton has not seen her birth mother since a court hearing in 1978.
Court and police records cited by the Acton campaign show that Arthur’s husband, Cledith Arthur, was arrested in July 1978 and indicted for the rape of a 12-year-old stepdaughter. Stearns stated that he and Acton were removed from the home following the indictment, while their mother remained married to Cledith Arthur until his death in 2004. Connie Luck, a spokesperson for the Ramaswamy campaign, stated that Donna Arthur was not paid for her appearance in the ad and asserted that Acton is a "serial fabulist" whose truthfulness should be evaluated by the public.
Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown and other public figures have called for the disavowal of the ad. The next major steps in the race include the conclusion of early voting, in which more than 676,000 ballots have already been cast, and the general election on Nov. 3, 2026. Legal questions regarding the initial lack of disclaimers during the ad’s online circulation remain unresolved.