Vance defends Ramaswamy attack ad despite Republican backlash in Ohio

US Vice-President JD Vance has defended a controversial advertisement supporting Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign for governor of Ohio, dismissing criticism from fellow Republicans as “whining”, according to BBC News and NDTV. The 60-second advertisement features Donna Arthur, the estranged mother of Democratic candidate Amy Acton, saying that her daughter lied throughout her life. It does not mention that Arthur’s husband, Cledith Arthur, was charged with raping Acton when she was a child.

He was never prosecuted and died in 2004. Ramaswamy’s campaign initially released the video without identifying who had paid for or authorised it. Ramaswamy later confirmed that his campaign was responsible and pledged to spend $4 million to broadcast it across Ohio.

Acton and her brother, Philip Stearns, have condemned the advertisement, with Stearns describing the use of alleged childhood abuse as a political issue as despicable. Vance said he was “a little bit disgusted” that Republicans were more concerned about the advertisement than about Democratic policies. At a rally for Ramaswamy, he said the campaign had been willing to call Acton a liar.

When asked by the BBC whether the ad was appropriate, he said its appropriateness was not his concern and that his focus was on who would govern the next generation of American government. The advertisement has produced a rare bipartisan backlash. Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley called Ramaswamy a bad person and criticised the fact that he continued to use the material.

Ohio Senator John Husted said he would not have run the ad, while Secretary of State Frank LaRose said candidates had to answer for their own advertising and indicated that he probably would not have used such a message. Acton’s campaign responded with a video featuring Stearns. He recounts the family’s childhood experiences and says Acton suffered the worst of the abuse.

Acton and her brother were removed from their mother’s custody after their stepfather’s arrest in 1978; Acton has said she last spoke to her mother at that time. President Donald Trump, when asked about the advertisement, said he knew nothing about it. He described the estrangement between mother and daughter as unusual but said he did not think it had anything to do with Ramaswamy.

David Lublin, a professor at American University cited by the BBC, said political attacks had become more intense and that the boundaries of acceptable material had widened. He distinguished this case from ordinary attacks involving relatives because the estrangement was connected to a rape allegation rather than policy disagreements. Lublin also suggested the advertisement could backfire and said attack ads often aim to reduce an opponent’s turnout rather than win over their supporters.

The immediate political effect remains uncertain, but the dispute has put Vance’s support for Ramaswamy alongside criticism from members of both parties.