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It’s an ugly day in Ohio politics. In a governor’s race where most polls show Republican entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy trailing Amy Acton, a Democratic doctor, a mysterious new ad features Acton’s estranged mother, who sided with Acton’s stepfather after she accused him of molesting her.

This ad sounds pretty bad. What does it say?

The clip, which you can watch here, features Donna Arthur, Acton’s birth mother, hurling some ugly allegations. Arthur accuses Acton of “lying about her opponent,” Ramaswamy, and of having “lied her entire life,” including about her background. What the ad doesn’t mention is that Acton became estranged from her mother after accusing her stepfather—whom Arthur married after getting divorced from Acton’s birth father—of sexually abusing her between the ages of 9 and 12. In a 2019 interview with a Youngstown newspaper, Acton said her stepfather was arrested and faced criminal charges and that she hasn’t seen her mom since they went to court in connection with the case.

Who is Acton and how has she responded to the ad?

Acton led Ohio’s response to the COVID pandemic as the state’s Department of Health director, a position the state’s current Republican governor appointed her to. On Tuesday, her campaign put out a statement from Philip Stearns, Acton’s brother, corroborating her account of abuse and implying that Ramaswamy was behind the ad. Stearns called Ramaswamy “a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants.”

Tough words. But who is........

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