President Donald Trump told Republican Vivek Ramaswamy to keep running an attack advertisement against Democrat Amy Acton, even as the sitting Republican governor of Ohio demanded it come down. The president said so in a social media post on Thursday.
The ad features Donna Arthur, Acton's estranged mother. In it, Arthur disputes her daughter's account of a childhood marked by homelessness and sexual abuse by a stepfather, and urges Ohioans not to vote for her. Ramaswamy's campaign said it is spending $4m to promote it.
"Anybody whose mother spoke about a daughter in that way would normally lead to the daughter being precluded from serving in office," Trump said.
What the Record Shows
Acton says she hasn't seen her mother since 1978, which makes it 48 years. Her brother, Philip Stearns, backs her account of the abuse. The stepfather died in 2004, 22 years ago, and he was charged with rape.
Those facts matter, and the people defending the ad have to answer to them. Stearns called the advertisement a "desperate, disgusting attack." Acton campaign spokesperson Addie Bullock called Ramaswamy's decision to promote it "both despicable and entirely predictable."
The Party Divides
Trump didn't stop at defending the ad. He attacked Republican Governor Mike DeWine, who advised Ramaswamy to pull it, and labelled him "disloyal" to the party.
DeWine made his case in person at the Ohio Statehouse, in front of reporters. He recalled the painful experiences of rape victims he dealt with as a county prosecutor and state attorney general. "It's wrong to run this ad," he said. "And, even at this late time – my wife, Fran, saw the advertisement just run this morning on TV – I would just urge the Ramaswamy campaign to take this down."
The governor is term-limited. That's why this seat is open, and why the fight over who replaces him has turned so bitter.
The Campaign Trail
Vice President JD Vance, a former senator from Ohio, campaigned on Wednesday with Ramaswamy and US Senator Jon Husted, an Ohio Republican. He brushed aside the blowback. Vance expressed disgust with Republicans "whining" about the advertisement as low and in poor taste.
So the split is plain. The president, the vice president and the candidate stand on one side. The outgoing governor, who spent a career prosecuting sexual crimes, stands on the other, joined by Acton's brother and her campaign.
What It Means for the Race
Opinion polls suggest Acton is narrowly leading Ramaswamy in a tight contest. With $4m behind the ad and a governor of the same party publicly begging for its removal, the Republican ticket is running a contested spot in the final stretch of a race it isn't clearly winning.
Voters in Ohio will decide whether the ad moves them, or whether the governor's objection does. The ad is still on the air.
- vivek ramaswamy
- amy acton
- donald trump
- mike devine
- ohio governor race
- political attack ads
- donna arthur
- jd vance