The campaign team for Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy announced plans to invest $4 million in an advertising initiative centered on a divisive video featuring his Democratic rival’s estranged mother, which had achieved significant viral circulation online.
Acton has disclosed that she has maintained no contact with her mother since age of 12, following an incident in which her mother’s second husband alleged sexual abuse against her.
“It’s not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at twelve years old from our birth mother’s husband into a political talking point,” Stearns stated. “After he was arrested and Amy and I were removed from their custody, our birth mother stayed married to Amy’s rapist until he died.” He entered a not guilty plea but did not attend his scheduled court hearing. He was never found guilty and has since passed away.
Conservative analyst Mary Katharine Ham raised concerns about whether leveraging an opponent’s estranged family member in attack messaging could inadvertently generate public sympathy for the targeted candidate.
