Republican Vivek Ramaswamy has pulled the plug on a controversial attack ad featuring his Democratic opponent’s ex-mother Amy Acton, after the deeply personal spot appeared to backfire on his Ohio gubernatorial campaign.
Ramaswamy confirmed in a campaign appearance Thursday that the ad, in which Donna Arthur called her daughter a “lifelong liar” and urged Ohioans not to vote for her, would no longer air.
But the damage may already have been done – for Ramaswamy’s campaign.
A Republican-commissioned poll reported by Axios on Wednesday found that Acton took an eight-point lead over Ramaswamy among likely voters, 50 percent to 42 percent.
The same survey had him gaining only two points (47% to 45%) before the ad began circulating on October 19.
The survey of 800 likely Ohio voters, conducted Oct. 23-26, also found that 86 percent of respondents said they had seen, read or heard something about the controversial ad.
By a two-to-one ratio, voters who were familiar with the spot said it made them more likely to support Acton.
Ramasway’s campaign initially pledged $4 million to run the ad statewide, but only about $1 million was actually spent on its delivery, according to data from ad tracking company AdImpact.
The advert featured Arthur, estranged from Acton for almost 50 years, attacking his daughter’s character and disputing her account of a traumatic childhood.
Acton said she was sexually abused by her stepfather between the ages of 10 and 12 and her mother failed to protect her.
Her stepfather was charged after the abuse allegations, and Acton and her brother were later removed from their mother’s custody.
Ramaswamy’s decision to air the mother-daughter feud sparked bipartisan outrage, with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican who previously worked alongside Acton when she was state health director, calling the ad deeply troubling and urging the Republican to remove it.
But President Trump and Vice President JD Vance supported Ramaswamy. Trump encouraged him to keep the ad on the air, saying Acton was “fair game,” while Vance told critics to “stop whining.”
Ramaswamy previously defended the attack, arguing that Acton misrepresented his past and avoided addressing the substantive issues facing Ohio voters.
National GOP operatives now fear the fallout could threaten Republican Jon Husted’s Senate re-election campaign, in a state Trump won by 11 percentage points two years ago.
Ramaswamy said Thursday that the ad was “finished” and that his campaign had moved on to four more ads.
Acton’s campaign called the original spot “despicable,” saying it should never have aired and demanding an apology from Ramaswamy.
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