A recent Ohio gubernatorial campaign advertisement released by Republican Vivek Ramaswamy features his Democratic opponent’s mother accusing her daughter of dishonesty and urging the public to vote against her.
In the video, Donna Arthur warns viewers, “Don’t vote for people who lie. Don’t let her become your governor. If you think she’ll make your life better, you’re fooling yourself. It will only get worse.”
However, the ad omits a significant detail: the Democratic candidate, 60-year-old Amy Acton, has been estranged from her mother since the 1970s following child sexual abuse charges against Acton’s stepfather.
The commercial drew swift criticism across political lines after allies and family members highlighted the strained dynamic.
The video first appeared on social media on October 19 without any initial indication of its creators or funders. It was shared by D.J. Byrnes, an Ohio political blogger known as “The Rooster,” who told CNN that a voter had recorded it from a political poll and passed it along.
Speaking to Ohio public radio station WOSU-FM on October 20, Acton stated her belief that Ramaswamy financed the spot. She explained that she was taken out of her mother’s household at age 12 and had not seen her since. “It’s awful to see her this way, and it’s even more incredible to see that my opponent has taken advantage of someone who’s clearly not well, who is older, and this is totally in line with who he is,” Acton noted during the interview.
Despite the mounting backlash, Ramaswamy’s campaign officially claimed ownership of the ad on October 20, announcing a $4 million spending rollout to broadcast it.
That same day, Acton’s team issued a public response detailing her background and dropped a new counter-ad titled “Abuse.” In the video, her brother, Phil Stearns, speaks about the abuse they suffered as children.
“I received a lot of abuse, but Amy always got the worst of it,” Stearns stated. “She continued to receive that abuse because she knew she had to protect me.”
The controversy also spilled into campaign events. During an October 20 town hall, an attendee interrupted Ramaswamy to denounce the commercial and back Acton. After ignoring warnings to stop, the heckler was escorted out by law enforcement.
What is known about Acton’s childhood?
Acton has spoken publicly about her turbulent upbringing for years. In a 2019 interview with Youngstown’s The Vindicator, she described an environment marked by neglect, instability, and sexual abuse perpetrated by her stepfather.
According to an October 20 press release from her campaign, child welfare authorities removed Acton and her brother from their mother’s custody after the stepfather’s arrest. Acton eventually pursued a medical career and public health path, famously serving as Ohio’s health director during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Because these events occurred nearly five decades ago when Acton was a minor, some specifics are challenging to independently verify. However, following the release of the ad, Acton’s campaign provided outlets like PolitiFact with extensive documentation, including court filings.
An August 11, 1978, report in The Vindicator shows that Cledith Arthur was indicted by a grand jury in 1978 on charges of raping a 12-year-old. Acton, born in 1966, would have been 12 years old at that time.
Court documents furnished by the campaign indicate that Cledith Arthur entered a not-guilty plea before skipping court appearances. A fugitive warrant was issued by October 1978, and sheriff’s office records show a renewed warrant was issued in 1981. The campaign notes he was never formally tried or arrested.
Stearns noted that Donna Arthur stayed married to Cledith Arthur until his death, which records indicate occurred in 2004.
Additionally, the campaign shared records pointing to other legal trouble for Acton’s mother. Pennsylvania files confirm that both Donna Arthur and Cledith Arthur were found guilty of felony theft by deception in 1996.
Donna Arthur was also convicted of animal neglect in Pennsylvania in 2021 after police discovered animals locked inside a hot car, though a state appellate court later vacated the ruling and sentence in 2023, sending the case back for further proceedings.
Back in 2020, while Acton was leading Ohio’s health department, Donna Arthur contested her daughter’s narrative of family abuse during an interview with the anti-abortion organization Operation Rescue.
PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.