Ohio governor race sees controversial ad featuring candidate's estranged mother

A campaign ad released by Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy for Ohio governor featured a video of Amy Acton's estranged mother, accusing the Democratic candidate of lying. The ad, which quickly went viral on social media, omitted background details about a decades-old allegation of sexual assault involving Acton's mother’s former husband.

Acton's brother, Philip Stearns, said the ad turned a personal trauma into a political weapon. "Shame on Vivek," he said in a response video released by Acton's campaign.

Political observers noted the increasing personal nature of campaign attacks. "They have become more intense, and the boundaries have stretched in terms of what one attacks about," said David Lublin, a professor at American University's School of Public Affairs. He added that using estranged family members over a rape allegation was "of a different order."

New York Governor Kathy Hochul called the ad "an abhorrent attack" on X, while Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said Ramaswamy "has reached a new low by launching these vile and false attacks." Former presidential candidate Nikki Haley also criticized the ad, describing Ramaswamy as "a bad guy."

Ramaswamy's campaign confirmed the ad was produced by his team and said it would spend $4 million to air it further. A campaign spokesman reiterated the claim that Acton was untruthful but said, "We don't know what happened between Amy and her mother."

Vice-President JD Vance declined to comment on the ad's appropriateness, stating, "It's not really my concern. What is my concern is who's going to govern the next generation of American government."

Experts suggested the ad could backfire, arguing that the personal nature of the attack may alienate voters in a race where a Democrat has not won the governorship in over twenty years.