Dem Candidate’s Family Rips Vivek Ramaswamy Over ‘Despicable’ Attack Ad

Amy Acton's brother slammed the MAGA Republican over an ad featuring the siblings' estranged mother

The brother of Dr. Amy Acton has lashed out at Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, in response to a political ad featuring the siblings’ estranged mother urging Ohioans not to vote for her. 

On Tuesday, Philip Stearns, Acton’s brother, issued a statement condemning the ad targeting the Democratic nominee. 

“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,” Stearns wrote.

Stears added that the siblings’ mother was estranged because she had remained married to Acton’s rapist, Cledith Arthur, until his death. Arthur was arrested in 1978 and pleaded not guilty to charges related to raping Acton, but fled Ohio to evade prosecution. He died in 2004. 

“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,” Stearns added. 

It’s unclear whether the minute-long spot was produced directly by the Ramaswamy campaign, or by affiliated boosters. The Ramaswamy campaign did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation and additional comment from Rolling Stone. 

In a statement given to The Cincinnati Enquirer, the Ramaswamy campaign said that they “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 ad features Donna Arthur, the biological mother of Acton, who claims to have helped develop some of the first sexual abuse recovery programs in the country. 

“I love my daughter, but when I saw her lying about her opponent — and it’s not easy for a mother to say this — but Amy has a serious problem. She is a liar. She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true. She’s lied her entire life,” Arthur says in the ad. 

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“My daughter needs help, and she can’t help you if she needs help herself […] Don’t vote for people who lie. Don’t let her become your governor,” she continues. 

Polling so far has shown a narrow contest between Acton and Ramaswamy, who hoped to ride the virality of his 2024 presidential campaign — which flamed out in the Iowa caucuses — into the governorship. So far, though, Ramaswamy has struggled as Trump and the party continue to flounder amid rising public disapproval and a persistent cost of living crisis. It’s anyone’s game at this point, but if Ramaswamy is hoping to win over voters who are tired of the ugliness around campaigning, this is surely not the route.