Ohio Governor Candidate Amy Acton Addresses Ad Featuring Estranged Mother
Democratic nominee Amy Acton responded forcefully to an unattributed online ad that features her mother, who she has been estranged from since childhood due to abuse and neglect.
Dr. Amy Acton, the Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, is confronting an unattributed online advertisement featuring her estranged mother, who calls Acton "a liar" and suggests she has mental health issues. The ad began circulating online shortly before the upcoming election, with Acton, a former Ohio public health director, facing a close race against Republican billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy.
The ad, which lacks the legally required "paid for" tag for broadcast television, first appeared on a political blogger's post and quickly spread across social media. It remains unclear who produced or funded the advertisement, or whether Acton's mother was compensated for her participation. Attempts to reach her mother were unsuccessful.
Acton suggested that Ramaswamy was behind the ad, citing her opponent's past behavior. "I won’t normalize somebody who has said that my childhood is just something I’m complaining about, who today just released an ad using my birth mother, who I was removed from at the age of 12 for severe abuse and neglect, and sexual abuse," Acton told Spectrum News. She characterized this as a "lifelong pattern" for Ramaswamy, drawing parallels to his personal attacks during his presidential campaign.
Ramaswamy's campaign issued a statement through spokeswoman Connie Luck, asserting that Acton "has some serious problems with the truth that the public needs to be aware of," without directly addressing responsibility for the ad or disavowing it.
Acton's brother, Philip Stearns, released a statement accusing Ramaswamy of stooping to a "despicable low" by using their childhood experiences for political gain. Stearns detailed that he and Acton were removed from their mother, Donna Arthur's, custody when they were children. According to police and court documents obtained by The Associated Press, Acton's stepfather, Cledith Arthur, was indicted in 1978 for the rape of Acton, who was then 12 years old. The alleged abuse occurred between December 1976 and April 1978. Cledith Arthur pleaded not guilty but failed to appear for a court hearing and remained a fugitive until at least 1981, and has since died.
Acton's mother's ad does not name Ramaswamy but implies Acton has misrepresented her opponent and the period when her family was homeless and lived in a tent during her childhood, an experience Stearns corroborated.