COLUMBUS, Ohio — An online Amy Acton ad featuring her estranged mother drew sharp condemnation Tuesday from the Democrat running for Ohio governor, who called the spot a smear and questioned who produced and funded it.
The one-minute ad surfaced overnight, less than two weeks before Election Day, and quickly spread across social media after an Ohio political blogger posted it. Acton, Ohio’s former public health director, is locked in a close race with Republican billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, a 2024 presidential candidate whose bid has been boosted by more than $120 million in outside spending.
The video does not include the “paid for” disclosure required for television airtime, leaving its origins unclear. It was not immediately known who created or financed the ad or how it was obtained for posting. It was also unclear whether Acton’s mother was compensated. Her last known phone number has been disconnected.
Amy Acton ad stirs questions about source
In the ad, Acton’s estranged mother calls her “a liar” and suggests she has mental health issues. Acton responded in an interview by pointing to her childhood, saying she was removed from her mother’s custody at age 12 due to severe abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse.
She suggested Ramaswamy was behind the ad and cited accusations of similar personal attacks during his presidential run, calling it a pattern by her opponent.
Ramaswamy’s campaign issued a statement that did not say whether he or his team was responsible for the video or disavow it. A campaign spokeswoman said Acton “has some serious problems with the truth that the public needs to be aware of.”
Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, issued a statement through her campaign recounting that he and Acton were removed from their mother Donna Arthur’s custody as children after their stepfather, Cledith Arthur, was indicted in 1978 for raping Acton when she was 12.
Acton has not seen her mother since a court appearance that year. Police and court records show Cledith Arthur was arrested and charged in July 1978 following a report by Acton’s biological father.
The alleged abuse occurred from December 1976 to April 1978. Arthur pleaded not guilty, was indicted that September, failed to appear for a hearing, and remained a fugitive until at least 1981. He has since died.
Stearns blamed Ramaswamy for the ad, saying the Republican had resorted to turning the sexual abuse Acton endured into a political talking point. The video does not mention Ramaswamy by name, but Acton’s mother claims her daughter misrepresented her opponent and disputed accounts of the family’s homelessness, including a period living in a tent when Acton was a child, an experience Stearns says is accurate.
As the race tightens, the unanswered questions about who produced the ad and who is distributing it online have added a volatile new element to an already heated campaign.
