Ramaswamy Ad Features Mother of Opponent Amy Acton, Who Describes Estrangement
A campaign advertisement by Republican Vivek Ramaswamy features the mother of Democrat Amy Acton, the opponent in Ohio's governor's race, from whom Acton says she has been estranged.
NPR reported that a campaign advertisement by Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican candidate for governor of Ohio, includes the mother of Democrat Amy Acton, his opponent in the race. According to the summary of its NPR report, Acton has said that she and her mother have been estranged since she was abused as a child by her stepfather.
The Hill reported that Acton, the Democratic nominee, responded for the first time to the advertisement, which it described as controversial. Acton told CBS that it was "a sad thing, and I feel like it was an exploitative thing to do," according to the Hill report.
The Hill also reported that the advertisement features Acton's estranged mother calling her a liar, and that Acton said her mother is not well. NPR's headline describes the advertisement as an attack ad, while The Hill's summary calls it a controversial campaign ad.
Neither summary describes the advertisement in full, and neither includes a response from the Ramaswamy campaign. The summaries available for this report therefore leave open what else the advertisement says and how the campaign has answered Acton's remarks.
The two accounts differ in emphasis. NPR's summary attributes the estrangement to childhood abuse that Acton says she suffered at the hands of her stepfather, while The Hill's summary does not address the cause of the estrangement. Both agree that the mother appears in the advertisement and that Acton has been estranged from her.
Sources: NPR: Vivek Ramaswamy's attack ad features mother of Amy Acton, who alleges childhood abuse; The Hill: Acton responds to Ramaswamy’s ad: ‘It’s despicable’.