Vice President JD Vance was unequivocal in his condemnation of the Republicans who have criticized fellow Republican Vivek Ramaswamy for a controversial ad against his Democrat opponent in the Ohio governor's race.
The ad features the mother of Democrat Amy Acton calling Acton a liar and telling Ohioans not to vote for her. Ramaswamy later acknowledged that his campaign was behind it.
'Politics is a tough business, and my message to my fellow elected Republicans is if you actually believe in the things you say you believe in, stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race.'
Acton's campaign called the ad "repulsive" and characterized Acton's mother as "abusive" and Ramaswamy as "a scam artist." Acton has made her rise from an allegedly dysfunctional and abusive childhood a signature part of her campaign.
While some Republicans have also criticized Ramaswamy for the ad, the vice president set the ad itself aside and went after the Republican critics instead.
"Well, I'll be honest with you; whether the ad was appropriate or not is not really my concern. What is my concern is who is going to govern the next generation of American government; who is going to win the Senate race in the state of Ohio; who is going win the governor's race in the state of Ohio," said Vance at the Cincinnati FBI field office in Sycamore Township on Wednesday.
"And I gotta be honest that when I see Republicans, people in my party, reacting so strongly, especially elected officials, look, have the opinion you want to have on that ad. If you think it was too tough, say it was too tough. If you think it wasn't tough enough, say that," he added.
"But I have to admit that I'm a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America," Vance said.
He then noted that Democrats have also attacked Republicans viciously and used ads featuring members of their families without compunction.
"People have called Vivek Ramaswamy a murderer in some of the advertisements ran against him," Vance said.
"How many times have we seen advertisements using his family members, estranged family members, to go after the president of the United States?"
RELATED: 'Shut the f*** up': Vivek tells off Van Jones for saying he's 'dangerous' and a 'demagogue'
"Politics is a tough business, and my message to my fellow elected Republicans is if you actually believe in the things you say you believe in, stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days," he concluded.
Vance went on to campaign with Ramaswamy in Cincinnati.
Acton is ahead of Ramaswamy in the average of polling compiled at the Blaze Poll Watch below:
Ohio governor polls 2026: Acton vs. Ramaswamy
Ohio Governor polls 2026: Acton vs. Ramaswamypollwatch.theblaze.com
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