Vance Tells Republicans to Stop Whining About Ramaswamy Ad

Vice President JD Vance told Ohio Republicans on Wednesday to stop complaining about a campaign ad by Vivek Ramaswamy that features the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, and to focus on winning the governor race in 13 days.

"Politics is a tough business, and my message to my fellow elected Republicans is if you actually believe in the things you say you believe in, stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days," Vance said at a news conference at the Cincinnati FBI field office in Sycamore Township.

Vance said he was "a little bit disgusted" when he saw Republicans whining more about the advertisement than about the race itself. Asked whether the ad was appropriate, he declined to answer directly. "Whether the ad was appropriate or not is not really my concern," he said. "What is my concern is who is going to govern the next generation of American government. Who is going to win the Senate race in the state of Ohio, who is going to win the governor race in the state of Ohio."

The ad at the center of the fight

The minute long spot features Acton's mother, Donna Arthur, calling her daughter a liar and urging voters not to support her. Acton has been estranged from her mother since 1978. That year her stepfather, Cledith Arthur, faced a rape charge for sexually assaulting Acton when she was 12 years old. Acton has said she has not seen her mother since she was about 12. Her brother said on Tuesday that their mother stayed married to the man who abused Acton until he died.

The video has spread widely on social media since it surfaced on Tuesday, shared among others by Donald Trump Jr. Democrats condemned it. Some Republicans did too. Conservative commentator Meghan McCain called the ad "dastardly" and said it never should have been created, and Nikki Haley was also critical. An aide to Senator Mike Lee shared the video, then deleted the post and apologized.

Why it matters

Ohio elects its governor in 13 days, and the race between Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee, and Acton, a former state health director, has turned personal in its final stretch. Vance, a former senator from Ohio, is the most senior Republican voice to defend the ad in public. His message was aimed at his own side: hold together, and argue about the result, not the tactics.

At a rally later in the day at the Sharonville Convention Center, north of Cincinnati, Vance returned to the ad on his own. "Now the media and the Democrats in the state of Ohio are obsessed because guess what? Vivek Ramaswamy had the audacity to run a TV commercial which calls it out like it is and calls Amy Acton a liar," he said. He said Democrats had thrown "every dirty trick in the political book" at Ramaswamy while Ramaswamy had "stood tall."

About six minutes into the Sharonville speech, a protester seated behind Vance began shouting. Sharonville Police and security agents removed him as the crowd chanted "USA." Vance joked about the man's hair and said the protester was obviously a Democrat.

An Enquirer review of Ramaswamy's ten most recent posts on X found that six were critical of Acton rather than describing what he hopes to accomplish. Vance also attacked Acton over Ohio's Covid era school mask rules. Both Acton and Republican Governor Mike DeWine urged mask wearing at the time. The school mask mandate itself was imposed by DeWine's administration two months after Acton stepped down as health director, though she stayed on as his health adviser for two months before it took effect.

What happens next

Early voting is under way and both campaigns are in their final push. The question for Republicans is whether the ad moves undecided voters or pushes them away. The question for Vance's party discipline message is simpler: whether any other senior Republican breaks ranks before election day. Ramaswamy attended the Sharonville rally. Acton's campaign has condemned the ad and pointed voters to the family history behind it.

Key numbers

• 13 days: time left until the Ohio governor election, per Vance
• 1978: the year Acton last saw her mother, and the year of the court case against her stepfather
• 6 of 10: recent Ramaswamy posts on X that were critical of Acton, per an Enquirer review