Democrat Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton is leading Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in the polls by 3.6 percentage points with Election Day just two weeks away. It appears, however, that Acton's mother may have thrown Ramaswamy a lifeline.
D.J. Byrnes, an Ohio political blogger who was found guilty of sexual harassment earlier this month for sending a pornographic image of Shrek to Republican state Sen. Jerry Cirino, reported last week on "rumblings" that Ramaswamy had "co-opted Dr. Amy Acton's estranged mother for an endorsement video."
'If you think she'll make your life better, you're fooling yourself.'
Ohio Gubernatorial polls 2026: Acton vs. Ramaswamy.pollwatch.theblaze.com
On Monday night, an X account affiliated with Byrnes shared a minute-long ad featuring a woman who identifies herself as Donna Arthur, "Amy Acton's mother." Acton's campaign confirmed that the woman in the video is the Democrat's mother.
Acton's mother states in the video:
I love my daughter, but when I saw her lying about her opponent, and it's not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy has a serious problem. She is a liar. She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true.
Acton, the former director of the Ohio Department of Health who earned the moniker "Dr. Lockdown" by curtailing basic liberties during the pandemic in the Buckeye State, has long shared a bootstrap sob story about growing up in a dysfunctional family from Youngstown, living in a tent, alleged molestation, and moving around the country.
"Homelessness is an issue that is very near and dear to my heart," the Democrat told the Toledo Blade in 2020. "It is something I experienced as a kid."
Acton said in a 2020 interview with WKBN-TV that she lived in 18 different places by the time she was 12; was stigmatized as a child because she was "dirty and smelly"; and was fed by strangers who knew that she and her brother "were hungry."
Jon Cherry/Getty Images
The pro-abortion Democrat's campaign site presently claims that "Amy Acton faced a difficult childhood. She overcame periods of abuse, hunger, and neglect, and even wound up living in a tent in the middle of winter. That challenging upbringing molded the values and determination that have shaped a career dedicated to lifting others."
"She's lied her entire life," Arthur says in the video.
"My daughter needs help, and she can't help you if she needs help herself. People can change, but first they have to tell the truth, and my daughter still isn't doing that," Arthur continues. "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."
Ramaswamy's campaign and Arthur did not respond by deadline to Blaze News' requests for comment.
The Acton campaign has released a statement from Acton's brother, Philip Stearns, noting, "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 12 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," continued Stearns. "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."
Acton's estranged mother has previously cast doubt on the Democrat's origin story.
Donna Arthur told the pro-life organization Operation Rescue in 2020 that after leaving Acton's biological father because he was allegedly abusive, she was a single mom for several years.
During this time, Arthur claimed that her family was never homeless and always fed. She claimed further that instead of living in 18 locations, they lived in only four homes until her remarriage, after which time there were only two additional moves.
A cleaner version of the video was shared by Walter Curt, Ohio state director of the Conservative Caucus, and has since gone viral online.
Conservative author Rod Dreher wrote, "Well, I guess that's one lady who's not going to get a Mother's Day card next year! Holy cow!"
Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell noted, "Nobody enjoys hearing a mother say these things about her child. Arthur says she loves her daughter, and there is no reason to doubt her. Speaking out against your own child in a statewide race carries a heavy personal cost, and Arthur chose to bear it anyway."
"Ohio cannot afford a governor who rewrites her own history when it suits her," continued Blackwell. "The woman who has known Amy Acton longer than anyone is warning that she does."
Arthur's claims about her daughter needing help come a month after a Washington Examiner report highlighted concerns about Acton's mental stability in her previous role as Ohio's top health official.
According to interviews with current and former state government workers, Acton allegedly: missed so many crucial meetings about COVID while director of the Ohio Department of Health that Republican Gov. Mike DeWine asked about her whereabouts; was once found "curled up" in the fetal position on the floor prior to an emergency response meeting; was observed "constantly crying on the job"; and "acted passive-aggressively toward subordinates who said something she disagreed with."
The Acton campaign denied the claims in the Examiner report, calling them "disgusting lies and desperate mischaracterizations."
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