Vivek Ramaswamy pulls controversial attack ad featuring rival’s estranged mom following reported poll drop

Republican Vivek Ramaswamy has pulled the plug on a controversial attack ad featuring his Democratic opponent Amy Acton’s estranged mother, after the deeply personal spot appears to have backfired on his Ohio gubernatorial campaign.

Ramaswamy confirmed at a campaign appearance Thursday that the ad, which featured Donna Arthur branding her daughter a “lifelong liar” and urging Ohioans not to vote for her, would no longer be running.

But the damage may have already been done — to Ramaswamy’s campaign.

A Republican-commissioned poll reported by Axios Wednesday found Acton had opened up an eight-point lead over Ramaswamy among likely voters, 50% to 42%. The same survey had her up just two points (47%-45%) before the ad began circulating Oct. 19.

The survey of 800 likely Ohio voters, conducted Oct. 23-26, also found that 86% of respondents said they had seen, read or heard something about the controversial commercial. By a two-to-one ratio, voters who were familiar with the spot said it made them more likely to support Acton.

Ramasway’s campaign initially pledged $4 million to air the ad statewide, but only around $1 million was actually spent on its run, according to ad-tracking firm AdImpact data.

The ad featured Arthur, who has been estranged from Acton for nearly 50 years, attacking her daughter’s character and disputing her account of a traumatic childhood.

Acton has said she was sexually abused by her stepfather between the ages of 10 and 12, and that her mother failed to protect her. Her stepfather was indicted after the abuse allegations, and Acton and her brother were subsequently removed from their mother’s custody.

Ramaswamy’s decision to put the mom-daughter feud on air sparked bipartisan outrage, with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican who previously worked alongside Acton when she served as the state’s health director, calling the ad deeply troubling and urging the Republican to take it down.

But President Trump and Vice President JD Vance stood by Ramaswamy. Trump encouraged him to keep the commercial on air, declaring Acton was “fair game,” while Vance told critics to “stop whining.”

Ramaswamy had previously defended the attack, arguing Acton had misrepresented her past and avoided addressing substantive issues facing Ohio voters.

National GOP operatives now fear the fallout could threaten the Senate re-election campaign of Republican Jon Husted in a state Trump won by 11 percentage points two years ago.

Ramaswamy said Thursday that the ad had “run to completion” and that his campaign had moved on to four other commercials.

Acton’s campaign called the original spot “despicable,” saying it should never have aired and demanding an apology from Ramaswamy.