Collage of Amy Acton and Vivek Ramaswamy speaking (Saayan Shah / The Puma Prensa)
By Saayan Shah, Staff Writer
Democratic Dr. Amy Acton has defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in the Ohio gubernatorial election, marking a significant victory from Democrats in a traditionally Republican-leaning state. Acton’s victory comes after a controversial campaign ad that attracted national attention.
The ad featured Acton’s estranged mother, Donna Arthur, who accused her daughter of lying and urged Ohio voters not to elect Acton as governor. Vivek’s team capitalized on this accusation to further boost his standings in the gubernatorial election. However, the ad massively backfired and received criticism because of the mother’s history. Acton and her mother have been separated for nearly 50 years. In 1978, Arthur lost custody of her children after standing with her husband, who sexually abused Acton when she was just 12 years old.
Following this, Vivek Ramaswamy stopped airing the controversial political advertisement due to widespread criticism from Republican and Democratic politicians and citizens across the country. For example Republican Governor Mike DeWine described it as “deeply disturbing.” There has also been some support of this advertisement from government officials like President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who have publicly defended Ramasamy’s decision to air the ad.
Acton’s campaign responded by calling the ad “despicable” and asked Ramaswamy to apologize. Ultimately Acton’s decisive victory highlights the potential consequences of candidates relying on malicious personal attacks, rather than substantive policy debate in a candidate's political campaigns.