Ohio: Acton Responds to Ramaswamy Ad Featuring Estranged Mother
The Facts
- Dr. Amy Acton, Democratic candidate for governor of Ohio, has condemned a new ad featuring her estranged mother denouncing her and describing her as a liar. GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's team confirmed it had approved the ad, which circulated on social media on Monday.
- Acton states that she has not spoken to her mother, Donna Arthur, since she was removed from her custody in 1978 at age 12, the same year Donna's husband Cledith Arthur was charged with sexually abusing Acton. This was corroborated by Acton's brother and court records.
- Arthur says in the advertisement that Acton has "lied her entire life" and challenges her claims that she lived in a tent at one point as a child, a story Acton has repeated on the campaign trail. The ad makes no direct reference to Acton's claims of abuse.
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The Spin
Republican narrative
Amy Acton has cited the story of her childhood during her campaign, meaning she should be willing to defend its validity. Her own mother claims parts of the account are false, so Acton is right to face scrutiny. Democrats and the press are treating a fair question about honesty as an outrage, while Acton uses this ad to dodge debates that would see her have to answer for her record and her claims.
Democratic narrative
A candidate for governor is putting millions behind an ad that sets a survivor of childhood sexual abuse against the mother who stayed married to her abuser. Using a family’s worst trauma as a political weapon reveals Ramaswamy's underhand and manipulative tactics in this race — voters should reject a politics that treats cruelty as a campaign strategy.
