DeWine urges Ramaswamy to pull ad featuring opponent’s estranged mother

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine urged fellow Republican Vivek Ramaswamy to stop airing a $4 million campaign ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, calling the attack “deeply, deeply troubling.” DeWine said Thursday that he still supports Ramaswamy’s bid to succeed him as governor.

The minute-long ad features Donna Arthur calling her daughter a “liar” and urging Ohioans not to vote for her. Acton has said she has not seen or spoken to her mother in nearly 50 years. The ad does not mention Acton’s account of being sexually abused as a child by her mother’s husband.

Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, has corroborated her account. In a response ad released by Acton’s campaign, he says, “I received a lot of abuse, but Amy always got the worst of it,” and adds, “Shame on Vivek.” Stearns says in the video that their “birth mother stayed married to Amy’s rapist until he died.”

Talking Points Memo reported that Acton’s stepfather, Cledith Arthur, was indicted for raping her over multiple years when she was 12 and fled the state before trial. According to the outlet, Donna Arthur defended him, and Acton and her brother were removed from her custody. NBC News reported that Donna Arthur did not respond to its requests for comment.

“When you know the rest of the story, when you know the backstory,” DeWine told reporters, the ad becomes “more serious” and “just more wrong.” He cited the indictment and the children’s separation from their mother, then urged the Ramaswamy campaign to take the ad down, saying his wife had seen it on television that morning.

DeWine nevertheless stood by his endorsement. “I’m a Republican. I endorse the whole ticket,” he said. DeWine worked closely with Acton when she was Ohio’s health director during the early days of the Covid pandemic and has defended her against attacks over her leadership during that period.

Other Republicans have split over the ad. Sen. Jon Husted said he “would not have run that ad.” Talking Points Memo reported that Secretary of State Frank LaRose also said he would not have aired it and that his office was investigating complaints about it. Neither DeWine, Husted nor LaRose withdrew an endorsement of Ramaswamy, the outlet reported.

Vice President JD Vance dismissed the criticism Wednesday. “Politics is a tough business,” he told reporters, urging fellow Republicans to “stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days.” President Donald Trump called the mother-daughter relationship “a very unusual situation” but said he did not think it “has anything to do with Vivek,” according to Talking Points Memo.

Ramaswamy spokesperson Connie Luck said Acton was the first candidate to bring an opponent’s mother into the race, pointing to Acton campaign messaging about Ramaswamy’s mother. “We refuse to accept the media’s double standards,” Luck said. DeWine acknowledged concern about that messaging but emphasized the $4 million airtime purchase behind Ramaswamy’s ad.