Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign has removed a man with a serious criminal conviction from an advertisement supporting his Republican bid for Ohio governor, saying it had no knowledge of his background when the commercial was produced.
Vernon Edwards appeared alongside his wife, Patricia “Patty” Edwards, in footage used in an advertisement focused on rising property taxes and her fears that the family could lose its home and farm.
Newsweek independently confirmed Edwards’ criminal history through an Ohio appeals court decision. The Lorain County Sheriff’s Office registry also lists Vernon Thomas Edwards and states that he is subject to lifetime sex offender registration.
The Ramaswamy campaign told Newsweek it did not know about Edwards’ background and had removed him from the advertisement.
“This ad was based on a real interaction between Vivek and an Ohio woman who was distraught at a county fair because she may have to move out of her home due to rising property taxes. We had no knowledge of the circumstances now being reported,” campaign spokesperson Evan Machan said.
“The man has been removed from the ad. The fact of the matter is that property taxes are insanely high and causing many Ohioans to consider moving out of their homes. Vivek is the leader who will fix it.”
How Edwards Appeared in the Ad
The advertisement grew out of an encounter Ramaswamy had with Patty and Vernon Edwards at the Lorain County Fair in September.
Vernon Edwards shook Ramaswamy’s hand during the meetup, with the candidate complimenting the patriotic shirt he was wearing. Patty Edwards then became emotional while discussing property taxes with Ramaswamy and fears that rising bills could force her family from their home and farm.
Weeks later, the campaign produced an advertisement featuring Patty Edwards discussing those concerns directly to the camera and at a kitchen table. Her husband was not the focus of the commercial but appeared several times in accompanying footage from the earlier encounter.
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The Bulwark first reported Edwards’ appearance in the advertisement and the campaign’s decision to remove him.
After being contacted about Edwards’ background, the campaign also removed a social media video showing Ramaswamy’s earlier encounter with the couple, The Bulwark reported.
The episode has raised questions about the campaign’s vetting procedures because information about Edwards’ conviction and registration status was contained in publicly available records.
The campaign did not say in its statement what vetting had been conducted before the advertisement was produced.
Acton Campaign Attacks Ramaswamy
The campaign of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton responded sharply to the controversy, calling the campaign’s decision to feature Edwards disqualifying and criticizing Ramaswamy’s judgment.
The Acton campaign contended that Ramaswamy had deliberately amplified Edwards. That characterization conflicts with the Ramaswamy campaign’s account that it had no prior knowledge of Edwards’ background before it was reported.
Acton campaign spokeswoman Addie Bullock also leveled broader criticism at Ramaswamy over his political associations and previous treatment of Acton.
The Ramaswamy campaign’s statement did not address those broader allegations. Instead, it emphasized that the advertisement was intended to highlight the burden of rising property taxes and that Edwards had been removed once his background became known.
Patty Edwards, meanwhile, defended her involvement in the advertisement in an interview with The Bulwark and emphasized that the campaign had approached her, rather than her husband, about participating.
“I am a normal American citizen, and the ad was with me and with Vivek. That’s who was involved with us, and that’s who they reached out to,” she said.
She disputed the case against her husband and argued that he had served his sentence and had since been “an exemplary citizen.”
Race for Ohio Governor
The controversy comes as Ramaswamy and Acton compete to succeed Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.
The latest RealClearPolling average cited by the Daily Mail put Acton at 48.1 percent and Ramaswamy at 44.1 percent, giving the Democrat a 4-point advantage. The average included polls conducted from September 18 to October 6.
Ramaswamy’s campaign has sought to return the focus to the property-tax issue the advertisement was intended to highlight.
“The fact of the matter is that property taxes are insanely high and causing many Ohioans to consider moving out of their homes,” Machan said.
Acton’s campaign, meanwhile, is using the episode to question Ramaswamy’s judgment as the two vie for the governorship.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Anna Commander and Edward T. Cummins