Vice President JD Vance has a message for Republicans complaining about Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s explosive ad targeting Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton: Stop whining and win the race.
“Politics is a tough business, and my message to my fellow elected Republicans is: If you actually believe in the things you say you believe in, stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days,” Vance said at a Wednesday press conference.
Vance didn’t hold back, saying he was “disgusted” with the reactions of some elected Republicans, who publicly condemned the ad with just 13 days to go until election day.
“If you think it wasn’t tough enough, say that. But I have to admit that I’m a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America,” he said.
Vance is campaigning with Ramaswamy and Republican Sen. Jon Husted in Cincinnati as the ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother continues to roil the state’s gubernatorial race.
Ramaswamy’s campaign has accepted responsibility for the ad and is pouring $4 million behind the bombshell spot, which features Donna Arthur calling her daughter a “liar” and accusing her of fabricating stories about her childhood, The Daily Wire reported.
“It’s not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy has a serious problem. She is a liar. She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true. She’s lied her entire life,” Arthur says in the one-minute ad. “Don’t vote for people who lie. Don’t let her become your governor. If you think she’ll make your life better, you’re fooling yourself. It will only get worse.”
Sources close to Ramaswamy’s campaign told Axios the ad tested well with “persuadable” voters, leading to the multimillion-dollar statewide blitz that began Tuesday night.
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“This is part of a pattern,” Ramaswamy told reporters at a Tuesday campaign event in Columbus. “Someone else who appears to know her well … says the same thing, and I do think that is important for voters to take that into account, especially because Amy Acton has hid from debate and ducked questions.”
Trailing candidates often turn to negative ads to erode their opponents’ standing and shake up a stagnant race. Ramaswamy is trailing Acton by nearly four points, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.
But Ramaswamy feels it’s fair game.
“What I do know [is] that Amy Acton has been repeatedly and serially dishonest during this campaign and for much of her record in public service, and I do think that record deserves to be scrutinized,” he told WJW.
On Tuesday morning, Acton’s campaign condemned Ramaswamy over what it described as an “attempt to platform their estranged and abusive mother.” Acton also released a statement, saying she and her brother endured “abuse, hunger, and neglect” in their mother’s care.
“We were often kept in a dark basement, were frequent-fliers with child protective services, and lived in fear of our birth mother’s violent and erratic temper,” Acton said. “Between the ages of 10 and 12, I was sexually abused by her husband, while my birth mother did nothing to protect me.”
“I’ve always known that she was deeply sick and unwell, and it’s sad to see Vivek Ramaswamy exploit her all for his own political gain,” she added.
The New York Times reported that Youngstown police and court officials “could not immediately produce records” from the 1970s to corroborate Acton’s account. However, the Acton campaign provided documents showing that her stepfather pleaded not guilty, was indicted by a grand jury, and fled the state before trial, according to the Times. A subsequent arrest warrant was issued, but he never appeared before a judge. He died in Pennsylvania in 2004.
Acton and Ramaswamy are locked in a tight race to succeed Ohio’s term-limited Republican Governor Mike DeWine. With just two weeks until Election Day, Cook Political Report lists the race as a toss-up.
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