Ohio governor's race takes ugly turn with attack ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother

A new attack ad with unknown origins features the estranged mother of Democratic candidate for Ohio governor Amy Acton calling her a "liar" and defending her GOP opponent Vivek Ramaswamy. Acton's campaign and her brother denounced the ad as a "despicable low."

Acton's mother, Donna Arthur, whose husband was accused of raping Acton when she was a child, says in the spot, "It's not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy was a serious problem. She is a liar; she lies about her past." 

Acton's brother, Philip Stearns, lashed out at Ramaswamy in response: "It's not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at twelve years old from our birth mother's husband into a political talking point." 

He said that after their stepfather, Cledith Arthur, was arrested and charged, he and Acton were removed from the Arthurs' custody and lived with their father. 

"Our birth mother stayed married to Amy's rapist until he died," Stearns said. "This desperate, disgusting attack reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core – a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants."  

The ad, which circulated on social media on Monday night, lacks the mandatory disclosure of who paid for and authorized the commercial. It has not aired on TV or cable but has been widely circulated on social media.

Connie Luck, a spokesperson for Ramaswamy, did not respond to a question about whether his campaign paid for the ad, but said in a statement on Tuesday, "We don't know what happened between Amy and her mother, who first spoke out about Amy in 2020, but we know that Amy Acton is a serial fabulist who has some serious problems with the truth that the public needs to be aware of before deciding who to entrust as governor." 

The state Republican Party did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Acton, who served as the state's public health commissioner under GOP Gov. Mike DeWine during the pandemic, has previously talked about being abused by her now-deceased stepfather. According to court records provided by the campaign, in 1978, Arthur was charged with raping Acton, when she was between 10 and 12 years old. He entered a not guilty plea.

Acton has also detailed struggles throughout her early childhood with poverty and homelessness, and records provided by her campaign show that the family lived in a tent for a year. 

Acton told the Youngstown Vindicator in 2019 that once she and her brother were able to go live with their father, their lives became more stable. 

"In the courthouse after they were charged, I went to give her a kiss, and she just turned her cheek away," Acton told The Vindicator seven years ago. "That was the last time I ever saw her." Her campaign says that court date remains the last time Acton saw her mother.

Her mother and her stepfather, released on bond, left Ohio without facing charges, the news site said. Warrants were issued for Cledith Arthur's arrest at least twice in the next few years, according to court records. Donna and Cledith Arthur lived in Pennsylvania until Cledith's death in 2004. 

Ramaswamy's backers have launched other personal attacks against Acton, who has been leading in polls over the last month.

Other aspects of Acton's personal life have also resurfaced during the election, including an incident when police were called to her home in 2019 during what was characterized as a domestic dispute.