The Ohio governor’s race has erupted into a national controversy over a Trump-endorsed attack advert featuring the estranged mother of Democratic candidate Dr Amy Acton, who accuses her daughter of lying about her childhood.
The one-minute video was produced by Republican rival Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign, which has said it will spend $4 million promoting the advert online and on television. Donna Arthur, Acton’s birth mother, describes her daughter as “a liar” and disputes claims that she experienced homelessness and abuse as a child. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/dc59bd5f0c47f9e06f37022e2ba2cce5))
The advert has prompted condemnation from Democrats and several senior Republicans, turning an already closely watched contest into a wider test of the party’s response to deeply personal political attacks.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, who endorsed Ramaswamy, said the advert was “deeply troubling” and urged the Republican candidate to remove it, while stopping short of withdrawing his backing. DeWine said family members had traditionally been considered off limits in political campaigns. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/de2aec0076776539cd206f91d39d0236))
President Donald Trump, however, defended the advert and said Ramaswamy should continue running it. Trump told reporters that Acton’s mother was “fair game” after calling her daughter a liar and unreliable. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/de2aec0076776539cd206f91d39d0236))
Acton has said she was removed from her mother’s custody at the age of 12 after her stepfather was charged with raping her. Her brother, Philip Stearns, has backed her account and accused Ramaswamy of turning the alleged abuse into a political weapon.
Independent fact-checkers said court documents, contemporaneous news reports and statements from Stearns supported key parts of Acton’s account, including the allegation that her stepfather was charged with rape and that she was taken from the family home. ([statenews.org](https://www.statenews.org/government-politics/2026-10-20/ad-featuring-mother-of-ohio-democratic-governor-candidate-sparks-controversy-and-backlash))
Ramaswamy’s campaign has rejected the criticism, arguing that voters should hear from people who know Acton personally. Campaign spokeswoman Connie Luck said Arthur was not paid for taking part in the advert and accused Acton of having “serious problems with the truth”. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/dc59bd5f0c47f9e06f37022e2ba2cce5))
Vice-President JD Vance has also defended the Republican candidate, dismissing complaints from fellow Republicans as “whining”. The dispute comes in the final weeks of a competitive race, with both campaigns seeking to shape the national attention surrounding the Ohio contest.
