# Ramaswamy's attack ad deepens GOP panic in Ohio

> Republicans recoil as gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy features his opponent's estranged mother in a divisive campaign ad two weeks before Election Day.
- Title: Ramaswamy's attack ad deepens GOP panic in Ohio · TIME
- Summary: Republicans recoil as gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy features his opponent's estranged mother in a divisive campaign ad two weeks before Election…
- Keywords: vivek ramaswamy, amy acton, ohio governor race, j.d. vance, 2024 election, campaign advertising, republican party, Ramaswamy's, attack, deepens, GOP, panic
- Source: TIME — https://time.com/article/2026/10/21/ramaswamy-s-ad-of-acton-s-estranged-mom-jolts-ohio-races-across-the-ballot
- Author: Philip Elliott
- Published: 2026-10-21T21:03:17.525+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: vivek ramaswamy, amy acton, ohio governor race, j.d. vance, 2024 election, campaign advertising, republican party
## Ramaswamy's divisive ad triggers GOP backlash
Gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy featured his opponent Amy Acton's estranged mother in a campaign ad, sparking fierce bipartisan backlash and alarm among Ohio Republicans on Wednesday.
## The mother hasn't spoken to Acton since 1978
Acton's mother has not spoken to her daughter since nineteen seventy-eight, when she defended Acton's stepfather who was indicted for raping Acton as a child.
## Republicans fear the ad will backfire
Private conversations among old-guard Republicans revealed deep concern the ad would draw more empathy for Acton from voters and turn them away from Ramaswamy.

> We now deserve to lose this race.
## Ramaswamy spending four million dollars on the ad
Ramaswamy's campaign said it was putting four million dollars into making sure the ad gets seen, targeting persuadable voters still undecided between him and Acton.
## Vance defends the hard-nosed messaging
Vice President J.D. Vance, campaigning in Cincinnati, urged Republicans not to complain about the ad and said he believes Acton is unfit to serve as Governor of Ohio.

> I'm a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America.
## Republican officials condemn the strategy
Republican Lydia Mihalik, a member of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's Cabinet, said exploiting someone's childhood trauma is wrong. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley called Ramaswamy a bad guy.

> He's a bad guy. It's a shame he continues to get away with it.
## Acton's brother responds with his own ad
Acton's brother Phil Stearns released a thirty-second ad Wednesday saying Ramaswamy has contempt for Amy and therefore contempt for Ohio, and is not fit to lead.

> She was eleven and twelve years old, and to think that that's somehow a talking point, shame on Vivek.
## Key takeaway

Vivek Ramaswamy's decision to feature Amy Acton's estranged mother in a campaign ad triggered fierce bipartisan backlash and alarm among Ohio Republicans, who fear it will backfire and cost them the race.