Illinois First Lady MK Pritzker donates $500K to Amy Acton's Ohio governor campaign after Ramaswamy attack ads
Illinois First Lady MK Pritzker donated $500,000 to Amy Acton's campaign to become Ohio governor in the wake of Republican Vivek Ramaswamy releasing attack ads featuring her estranger mother.
The ads feature Donna Arthur, who has been estranged from Acton since the 1970s and whose husband was accused of raping Acton when she was a child, calling the candidate a "liar." Acton's campaign and her brother denounced the ad as a "despicable low."
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker posted a statement from his wife on her donation to Acton in response to the ads.
"Bad men gain power when we don't fight back," MK Pritzker's statement reads. "Vivek Ramaswamy represents everything that is wrong with our politics today: arrogance, cruelty, dishonesty, and the belief that it's acceptable to say and do anything for power. I refuse to sit quietly while men like Vivek Ramaswamy exploit a highly qualified woman's pain for political gain."
"There comes a time when simply condemning someone's actions isn't enough – we have to put it all on the line to defeat these MAGA men," the statement continues. "This race is about standing up to bullies, confronting extremism, and making damn sure that men who thrive on cruelty and division don't get a free pass to govern. Ohio deserves better, Ohio deserves Amy Acton as their Governor, and I'm willing to fight for her."
Pritzker echoed her statement in his post and added simply, "I'm proud that my wife, MK, is supporting Dr. Amy Acton today."
Ramaswamy's ad was criticized by both Democrats and Republicans when it exploded into public view Tuesday.
"I would not have run that ad," Republican Sen. Jon Husted said in a statement to The Associated Press. Husted is in a tough fight with former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who on Tuesday called the spot "disgusting."
Husted appeared with Vice President JD Vance and Ramaswamy at a Wednesday night rally in Ohio for GOP candidates. Vance said during that stop he was "disgusted" by Republican pushback against Ramaswamy's ad. Husted did not raise the issue during his appearance.
Nikki Haley, who sparred with Ramaswamy during the 2024 Republican presidential primary over the personal nature of his attacks, called him "a bad guy" in a social media post Tuesday. "It's a shame he continues to get away with it," she wrote.
Ramaswamy said he will spend $4 million to promote it despite the backlash from some members of his own party. Acton, Ohio's former health director, has made no secret of facing homelessness and abuse as a child.
Arthur lost custody of her children after their stepfather was indicted for raping Acton. Police and court records show Cledith Arthur was arrested and charged with the rape of his stepdaughter, then 12, in July 1978, after Acton's biological father reported him to authorities. The abuse allegedly happened from December 1976 to April 1978.
