Vivek Ramaswamy’s disgusting campaign advertisement featuring his opponent Amy Acton’s estranged mother is already backfiring.
The Ohio GOP gubernatorial nominee’s team finally claimed credit Tuesday for an ugly attack ad featuring Donna Arthur, who lost custody of Acton after years of documented issues, including homelessness and sexual abuse by a stepfather. In the video, Arthur accused her daughter of lying about her upbringing.
The video did not originally include any sponsors or political disclosures. Now Ramaswamy’s campaign is paying $4 million to stream the ad because it did well with “persuadable” voters, Axios reported. It’s a surprising move considering that the rhetoric was so far afield from responsible campaigning that even Republicans are recoiling.
Meghan McCain slammed the “dastardly” ad, and Utah Senator Mike Lee’s longtime aide Dan Hauser publicly apologized for sharing it online.
A Republican operative close to Ramaswamy’s campaign told Politico’s Playbook Wednesday: “It’s so gross to forsake family members for politics. I think it’s bad. It’s just morally bad.”
Another senior GOP operative familiar with MAGA Inc.’s strategy told Playbook: “If Republicans are failing to lay out a reason to come vote for them and saying, ‘Here’s what I, as a candidate, am for, what I am going to do to make your economics better,’ there’s a good chance they’re going to lose.”
Not only does the advertisement fail to deliver a closing argument, but more than anything, it serves to resurface Acton’s devastating family history and remind people why they hate Ramaswamy so much in the first place.
The ad is reminiscent of his clash with former Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley, when he brought up her daughter during a debate. In response to his latest low blow, Haley said Tuesday: “He’s a bad guy. It’s a shame he continues to get away with it.”
Acton’s campaign responded with its own advertisement Tuesday, in which her brother Philip Stearns discussed the abuse they experienced as children. “I experienced a lot of abuse, but Amy always got the worst of it,” he said.
“Shame on Vivek. It’s the contempt he has for Amy. It’s the contempt he has for Ohio. He’s not fit to lead,” he added.