An attack advertisement by Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy targeting his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, has sparked criticism within his own party, less than two weeks before November 3 midterm elections in the United States.
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advertisement → target → States
The ad features Acton’s estranged mother accusing Acton of being a liar.
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ad → feature → Acton
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list of 1 itemend of listRamaswamy has refused to withdraw the ad, even as senior Republicans have called for its removal.
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Republicans → refuse → removal
So what does the ad show, why has it sparked controversy and could it affect Ohio’s governor’s race?
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it → show → race
Here is what we know:
What does Vivek Ramaswamy’s advert show?
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advert → know → What
The ad, which began circulating online on Monday, features Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, accusing her daughter of lying about her childhood and suggesting she has a mental illness.
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she → begin → illness
“It’s not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy has a serious problem.
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Amy → ’ → problem
She lies about her past,” Arthur said in the video.
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Arthur → lie → video
Arthur also disputed Acton’s account of experiencing homelessness and living in a tent as a child as she urged Ohioans not to vote for her daughter.
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she → dispute → daughter
However, the ad does not mention that the two have been estranged since 1978 when Acton was 12 and was removed from her mother’s custody after her stepfather was charged with raping her.
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stepfather → mention → her
Her stepfather pleaded not guilty but failed to appear in court and was never tried.
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stepfather → plead → court
Acton and her brother have publicly described the abuse they experienced as children.
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they → describe → children
Court records and news reports from the time support key elements of Acton’s account of her childhood.
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records → support → childhood
FactCheck.org also found records linking her stepfather to the campground where Acton said her family lived in a tent, contradicting Arthur’s claim that the family never lived there.
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family → find → claim
Arthur remained married to Acton’s stepfather until his death.
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Arthur → remain → death
On Tuesday, Ramaswamy’s campaign confirmed it was behind the advertisement and announced plans to spend $4m promoting it.
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it → confirm → it
Why has the advertisement sparked controversy?
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advertisement → spark → controversy
On Tuesday, Acton’s campaign released a statement recounting her childhood and a response ad featuring her brother, Phil Stearns.
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campaign → release → brother
“I received a lot of abuse, but Amy always got the worst of it,” Stearns said.
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Stearns → receive → it
“She continued to receive that abuse because she knew she had to protect me.”
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she → continue → me
The use of Acton’s family history has raised questions about how far political campaigns should go in attacking opponents.
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campaigns → raise → opponents
David Niven, a political science professor at Ohio’s University of Cincinnati, told Al Jazeera that while campaigns have used relatives to criticise candidates before, this advertisement was particularly unusual.
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advertisement → tell → candidates
“We’ve seen family members used before but not in such a deeply personal way,” Niven said.
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Niven → see → way
“So we occasionally see a family member who’s talking about disagreements, you know, talking about a different kind of political outlook, but not this degree of just personal destruction.
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you → see → destruction
That’s what’s unprecedented here.”
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what → ’ → ?
How have Trump and other Republicans responded?
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Trump → respond → ?
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have defended Ramaswamy while other senior Republicans have called for the ad to be withdrawn.
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ad → defend → Ramaswamy
On Thursday, Trump described the ad as “very powerful” and said he had encouraged Ramaswamy to continue running it.
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he → describe → it
Vance told Republicans to “stop whining” about the controversy and focus on winning the elections.
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Vance → tell → elections
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, who has endorsed Ramaswamy, called the advertisement “deeply, deeply troubling” and urged its withdrawal although he maintained his endorsement.
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he → endorse → endorsement
Ohio Senator Jon Husted has also distanced himself from the ad.
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Husted → distance → ad
Niven said the disagreement reflected a broader divide between traditional Republicans and the party’s Trump-aligned wing.
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disagreement → say → Republicans
“So there’s a real divide between the Republican Party as it kind of traditionally was, that had something of a standard, and the Republican Party of Trump and Vance that will say anything at any time, regardless of the, you know, propriety of it.
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you → ’ → it
Ramaswamy has refused to withdraw the ad.
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Ramaswamy → refuse → ad
Vivek Ramaswamy, 41, is a Republican businessman and former biotechnology executive who unsuccessfully sought the party’s presidential nomination in 2024 before endorsing Trump.
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who → seek → Trump
Born and raised in Ohio, he is running for governor with the president’s endorsement.
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he → bear → endorsement
Amy Acton, 60, is a physician and former director of the Ohio Department of Health who became nationally known for leading the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic under DeWine.
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who → become → DeWine
Raised in Youngstown, she has spoken publicly about experiencing poverty, homelessness and abuse during childhood.
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she → raise → childhood
Neither candidate has previously held elected office.
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candidate → hold → office
Could the ad backfire?
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ad → backfire → ?
…and 20 more, not listed.
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