COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Vice President JD Vance said during a campaign visit to Ohio on Wednesday that he is “disgusted” by the Republican pushback against an ad by Vivek Ramaswamy that features the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent in the governor's race, Dr. Amy Acton, and raises questions about her traumatic childhood.
“Politics is a tough business,” Vance said to reporters.
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In Cincinnati, the vice president said it was “not really my concern” whether the controversial 60-second spot was appropriate, and said he was focused on supporting Republican candidates in their midterm races.
“I’m a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America,” Vance said in his first public comments on the ad, which has roiled one of the most contentious and expensive governor's races in the country.
The advertisement features Acton’s birth mother, Donna Arthur, calling her “a liar” and insinuating she has mental health issues. Arthur lost custody of her children after their stepfather was indicted for raping Acton.
The video was criticized by both Democrats and Republicans when it exploded into public view Tuesday, just two weeks before Election Day. On Wednesday, one of the candidates Vance was supporting at the rally offered a different view.
“I would not have run that ad,” Republican Sen. Jon Husted said in a statement to The Associated Press. He did not raise the issue during his joint appearance at the rally with Vance and Ramaswamy. Husted is in a tough fight with former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who on Tuesday called the spot “disgusting.”
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, a billionaire tech entrepreneur, claimed credit for the ad and said he will spend $4 million to promote it despite the backlash from some members of his own party. He didn't address it in remarks before Vance spoke at a rally outside Cincinnati.
Acton, Ohio’s former health director, has made no secret of facing homelessness and abuse as a child.
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. Cledith Arthur, who has since died, failed to show for a court appearance and became a fugitive.
Acton said she has not seen her mother since she appeared in a courtroom in the late 1970s. Her campaign on Tuesday posted a video of her brother who supported her backstory about living in a tent and being abused.
In his remarks to reporters ahead of the rally, Vance said Acton, “lies about every single one of her positions.”
Acton's campaign declined to respond to Vance's comments, saying that her painful backstory was not the centerpiece of her run for governor.
Michael Wedding, 20, came to Vance's rally Wednesday — but not to support Ohio's Republican ticket. He said he would be parting with his large Republican family and vote for Acton for governor, adding that he attended the rally in large part to see Ramaswamy in person.
He said he had seen the ad and found it “very, very gross.”
“She was sexually abused as a child," he said of Acton, "and I thought it was kind of scummy that they would use that in an advertisement. I don’t think it’s right to use her sexual abuse as a kid, or give any sort of platform to that.”
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Binkley reported from Washington. Associated Press video journalist Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos contributed to this story from Sharonville, Ohio.
