Nancy Mace says Vivek Ramaswamy has run the most offensive ad of the cycle

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) called a controversial political ad run by Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (R) “shameful,” saying she thinks it will hurt Republicans up and down the ballot in Ohio.

“This ad is going to go down as the most shameful, disgusting, offensive ad this election season,” Mace told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Wednesday. “The bar is low and somehow Vivek Ramaswamy, somehow managed to limbo under the lowest bar of decency in this country.”

Ramaswamy has been criticized by Democrats and some Republicans — including Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted — for attacking his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, in an ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother. In the ad, Acton’s mother called her a “liar” and said, “My daughter needs help.”

Acton’s campaign responded, with her brother saying Acton was sexually abused by their stepfather at a young age and that their mother stayed with him until his death. Acton was removed from her mother’s custody at age 12.

Mace, who previously came forward and said she had been sexually assaulted, told Tapper on Wednesday that while she supported Ramaswamy in the past, she was offended by the ad.

“I am beside myself. I was a real big Vivek Ramaswamy fan,” Mace said. “But this was just deeply offensive, and I just can’t believe that this is what passes for decency in this election. I’m stunned.”

Mace also praised other Republicans who criticized the ad.

Vice President Vance defended Ramaswamy on Wednesday in Ohio, saying he was “disgusted” by Republicans who pushed back against the ad. Mace said that the vice president’s defense of Ramaswamy may hurt him politically, as he is considered a possible GOP nominee for 2028.

“The idea that the vice president would go to the mattresses to defend this ad might have cost JD Vance the presidency,” Mace said.

Mace also told Tapper that she sees a bad election coming for Republicans in the midterms.

The South Carolina congresswoman said she sees women as especially enthusiastic to vote and that Republicans are losing their support. She said the Ramaswamy attack on Acton may only worsen GOP losses.

“I honestly am stunned that people are defending it because it’s going to hurt in Ohio. It’s going to hurt downballot,” Mace said. “I think it poured gasoline on the fire and is not what we need right now as a party. There’s going to be a reckoning after this and it will be well deserved.”