The Ohio gubernatorial election became more heated with Amy Acton’s mother appearing in a Republican advertisement urging voters not to vote for her daughter because she’s a liar. The video looked like a campaign-style video but it is not known who made it, and it first appeared on X by handles who raise money for conservatives. Later, even Donald Trump Jr shared the video. Vivek Ramaswamy came under fire as Democrats said he stooped too low by covertly roping in Amy Acton’s estranged mother Donna Stearns Arthur.“I love my daughter, but when I saw her lying about her opponent — it is not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy has a serious problem. She is a liar,” Acton’s mother said in the video.“She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true. She’s lied her entire life. My daughter needs help, and she can’t help you if she needs help herself,” Arthur continued.“People can change, but first they have to tell the truth. And my daughter still isn’t doing that. 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,” she concluded.
Acton’s brother says no wonder Ramaswamy stooped so low
Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, blamed Vivek Ramaswamy for orchestrating the stunt and said it was “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.”“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,” Stearns added. “This desperate, disgusting attack reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core — a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants.”In a 2019 interview with The Vindicator, Acton described her traumatic childhood where she experienced abuse, neglect and a period of homelessness. Later, charges were filed against Acton’s stepfather, and she moved in with her father and relatives. Acton said in the 2019 interview the last time she spoke with her mother was in the courthouse where her stepfather was arrested, saying she “went to give her a kiss, and she just turned her cheek away. That was the last time I ever saw her.”
Statement from Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign
In a statement to POLITICO, Ramaswamy’s campaign spokesperson Connie Luck said the public needs to be aware of Amy Acton. “We don’t know what happened between Amy and her mother, who first spoke out about Amy in 2020, but we know that Amy Acton is a serial fabulist who has some serious problems with the truth that the public needs to be aware of before deciding who to entrust as governor,” Luck said. “Everyone who knows her best — her former boss, her former state colleagues, her fellow physicians, and now her own mother — are clearly warning Ohioans not to vote for her,” Luck said.
