In the Ohio governor’s race, Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy is running the most unconscionable ad I have seen in 24 years of working in politics.
The ad features Donna Arthur, the estranged mother of Democratic nominee Amy Acton. Arthur lost custody of Acton and her brother when Acton was 12, after Arthur’s second husband was indicted for raping Acton. Rather than stand by her children, Arthur abandoned them, instead fleeing the state with her husband as he evaded prosecution. Court records and Acton’s brother corroborate the horrifying story.
Ramaswamy’s ad is so heinous that numerous Republicans are distancing themselves from it and the Ramaswamy campaign. The conservative National Review ran a story confirming the details of Acton’s story. Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who is running for reelection this year, said he wouldn’t have run it. Ohio GOP Gov. Mike DeWine said, “The ad, on its face, is deeply, deeply troubling. … It’s wrong to run this ad.”
Only the worst of the worst, like Vice President JD Vance, are standing behind the ad. The Ramaswamy campaign is now plowing $4 million into running the ad.
Doing the public a service, reporter Judd Legum at Popular Information has compiled a list of the corporations backing Ramaswamy and, by extension, paying for the airing of this vile ad.
- BakerHostetler
- Bank of America
- Centene
- Charter Communications
- Cincinnati Bengals, via its majority owner, Mike Brown
- Cincinnati Reds, via owner Bob Castellini
- Cleveland Browns, via owner Jimmy Haslam and Haslam Sports Group President Dave Jenkins
- Deloitte
- DraftKings, via CEO Jason Robins
- Duke Energy
- Giant Eagle
- Huntington Bank
- Johnson & Johnson
- Kroger
- Nationwide
- NetJets
- Pfizer
- PNC
- Rocket Companies, via founder Dan Gilbert
- U.S. Bank
That should go equally for Vivek’s corporate backers.
Markos Moulitsas is founder and editor of the blogging website Daily Kos and author of three books.
Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos
- Ramaswamy campaign says it produced ad with Amy Acton's mother and will spend millions to promote it | PBS News ›
- The ad features Acton's biological mother, Donna Arthur ... ›
- Amy Acton responds to attack ad where her estranged mother accuses her of lying | WOSU Public Media ›
- Ramaswamy confirms ad featuring Acton's estranged mother is his - WOUB Public Media ›
- Amy Acton's mother's troubled history revealed ›
- Vance tells Republicans to 'stop whining' about Ohio attack ad against Democrat Amy Acton ›
- Ramaswamy Campaign Attack Ad Featuring Amy Acton’s Mother Turns Ohio Governor’s Race Uglier - The New York Times ›
Start your day with National Memo Newsletter
Know first.
The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning
