Ramaswamy campaign ends controversial TV ad featuring opponent's mother
The Republican candidate for Ohio governor confirmed that his TV ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother has completed its scheduled run and will be replaced by other campaign spots.
The campaign of Republican Ohio governor candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said Thursday that the television advertisement featuring Donna Arthur, the estranged mother of Democratic opponent Dr. Amy Acton, has finished its planned airtime and is being withdrawn from the state's airwaves. The spot, which debuted last week and drew bipartisan criticism, will be replaced by four other ads the campaign is running in the final days of the race.
In the now-ended ad, Arthur, who says she has not seen her daughter since her former stepfather was charged with raping her as a child nearly five decades ago, called Acton a liar and urged Ohio voters not to support her. The commercial did not address the details of the rape case, prompting criticism that the campaign was using personal family history for political attack.
"I’m learning things even about my childhood right now that I did not know," Acton told reporters in Youngstown, adding that she found the ad "despicable" and expressing gratitude for the support she has received.
The Ramaswamy campaign previously disclosed that the ad was backed by $4 million in airtime and was shortened from a minute to a 30-second version. Governor Mike DeWine, who has endorsed Ramaswamy, was among officials who called for the ad's removal.
"Vivek Ramaswamy should never have run his despicable ad in the first place, and it’s totally unsurprising that he took it off the air in the most cowardly way possible, without even the hint of an apology to Dr. Acton, her family, or to the people of Ohio," spokesperson Addie Bullock said.
Ramaswamy responded at a campaign stop, noting that the ad had run its full schedule and that the campaign had already deployed additional advertisements.