Ohio governor calls on Vivek Ramaswamy to pull ad featuring opponent’s estranged mom

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Thursday called for Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican he endorsed to succeed him as governor, to stop airing an ad that features the estranged mother of Ramaswamy’s Democratic opponent, Amy Acton. “The ad, on its face, is deeply, deeply troubling,” DeWine said at a news conference he called to address what has become a boiling controversy in the final days of a hostile race. His comments drew a rebuke later Thursday from President Donald Trump, who chastised him on Truth Social and called the Ramaswamy spot a “very powerful Ad.” DeWine, for his part, reaffirmed his support for Ramaswamy. “Look, today is about the ad, but I’m not — no, I’m not changing my endorsement,” he said when reporters pressed him at the Ohio Statehouse.

“I endorse the whole ticket, as you know. I’m a Republican. I endorse the whole ticket. On that ticket are some amazing people, almost all of whom I have worked with in the past.” The Ramaswamy campaign ad, backed by a $4 million purchase of statewide airtime, features Donna Arthur, who calls her daughter a “liar” in the minutelong spot and urges Ohioans not to vote for her. Acton has talked about having been sexually abused by her mother’s husband as a child. Her brother, Philip Stearns, has corroborated her account,