Amy Acton calls Ramaswamy's attack ad featuring her estranged mother 'despicable' as Ohio race tightens

On Wednesday evening, at a campaign stop in Ohio, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton was asked about a television ad from her Republican opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy. She called it "despicable, what he's done," and said she had never attacked his family and never would.

The ad features Acton's estranged mother, Donna Arthur, who says her daughter "lied her entire life" and that she "needs help." What the ad leaves out is the history between them. Arthur's husband, Acton's stepfather, was charged with raping Acton when she was a child. Acton and her brother were then removed from Arthur's custody. According to Acton's campaign, the last time she saw her mother was in a courtroom in 1978, after the stepfather was indicted. He fled the state before he could stand trial and was never prosecuted. Arthur left with him. He died in 2004.

The reaction came from both parties. Ramaswamy claimed responsibility for the ad the day after it appeared on social media, and said his campaign would spend $4m (£3m) to air it across Ohio. The Columbus Dispatch editorial board endorsed Acton after it dropped, calling the ad "revolting and unsettling." Governor Mike DeWine, the outgoing Republican who endorsed Ramaswamy, has reportedly called it deeply troubling and urged that it be taken down. Former Republican congressman Jim Renacci wrote on X that the floor "may have just fallen out from under" the party's campaign, and warned that any Republican who does not distance themselves from the ad risks "taking on water."

President Donald Trump, who has endorsed Ramaswamy, took the other side. In a long social media post on Thursday he blamed the press for the backlash, praised both Arthur and Ramaswamy, and criticised DeWine. He urged Ramaswamy to keep going and let everyone hear from the mother of a candidate he called defective, dishonest and incapable. He wrote that he wished the mothers of his own opponents would be "so brave." The ad itself has Arthur repeatedly calling Acton a liar, but says nothing about cheating or stealing, which Trump's post alleged. At a rally in Iowa late Thursday, Trump told Ramaswamy, "you gotta ride with it," and to leave the ad up. Vice-President JD Vance said he wanted Republicans to stop "whining" and that he was "a little bit disgusted" by criticism from within his own party.

Acton has pointed to the wider effect. She said the fallout showed how many people have lived with trauma and abuse. Earlier this week she released her own ad in which her brother recalled their abuse as children and rebuked Ramaswamy for treating sexual assault as "a political talking point."

There is also a procedural question. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said his office is reviewing complaints that the ad may have first aired without the legally required disclaimer identifying who paid for it.

Money is moving too. MK Pritzker, wife of Illinois Democratic Governor JB Pritzker, announced Wednesday that she would donate $500,000 to Acton's campaign.

David Lublin, a professor at American University's School of Public Affairs, told the BBC that attack ads are not new in American politics but have become more intense. He suggested the ad could signal a campaign desperate to shift momentum.

The race was already close. A VoteHub poll released Thursday had Acton ahead by 1%, within the margin of error, though its surveys were conducted before the ad appeared. Voters decide on 3 November. If Acton wins, she would be the first Democrat elected Ohio governor in two decades.