Ohio’s gubernatorial race has descended into an extraordinary exchange of personal attacks, with Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton digging into each other’s pasts in a bitter contest that has left voters without a debate ahead of Election Day.
The mudslinging reached a new level in October, when Ramaswamy’s campaign released an advertisement featuring Acton’s estranged mother.
Ramaswamy faced fierce criticism from both sides of the political aisle, including Republicans who have said they would not have released the ad and questioned whether it crossed a line.
But the ad controversy was only the latest in a monthslong campaign of character attacks, ranging from allegations about Acton’s family life and medical qualifications to accusations that Ramaswamy and his mother orchestrated a pump-and-dump scheme.
Paul Beck, a political science professor emeritus at Ohio State University, described the advertisement featuring Acton’s mother as the most offensive he had encountered.
“It’s actually the nastiest campaign ad I’ve ever seen, and this has been a pretty dirty campaign,” Beck told the Washington Examiner.
The increasingly hostile rhetoric comes as the two candidates battle for control of a state that has shifted toward Republicans in recent elections but appears to be more of a battleground at the gubernatorial level.
While Ramaswamy’s controversial ad drew national attention for drawing on a traumatic part of Acton’s life, the race turned dark shortly after the primary, with both turning to their opponents’ personal and professional histories in an effort to sway undecided voters.
Acton’s personal life under scrutiny
Ramaswamy’s campaign ignited its latest controversy when it produced a video featuring Donna Arthur, Acton’s estranged mother, who accused the Democratic candidate of dishonesty and disputed her accounts of childhood abuse and homelessness.
Acton has said she was sexually abused by her stepfather as a child and that her mother failed to protect her. Court records show her stepfather was indicted in connection with allegations before fleeing Ohio with Arthur. Acton and her younger brother, Phillip Steams, were removed from their mother’s custody.
Steams subsequently released a statement corroborating Acton’s account and condemning Ramaswamy’s decision to seek out their mother. The Republican’s campaign later moved forward with airing the advertisement statewide.
Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH), who once oversaw Acton when she was state health director and has endorsed Ramaswamy, called the ad “deeply, deeply troubling” and urged Ramaswamy to take it down.
Beck suggested the decision could backfire politically, particularly given the public records corroborating Acton’s childhood and her brother’s decision to speak out.
“I think her brother adds credibility to her response and that is, of course, he was there, and he also was somebody who was protected in this case by Amy Acton,” Beck said.
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The controversy followed months of attacks on Acton’s personal life, including the resurfacing of a 2019 police report documenting a domestic dispute at her home.
According to the report, first Acton’s daughter called 911 after an argument between Acton and her husband, describing objects being thrown. The responding officers documented a broken mirror, while Acton’s husband has said he initiated the argument.
Conservative activist Laura Loomer obtained a copy of the police report and posted it to X, which Ramaswamy responded to, using the instance to frame media bias to favor Acton.
“Imagine if there were a Republican with multiple family-placed 911 calls for domestic disturbances on the candidate, across multiple different spouses, involving drinking, drugs, & attempting to drive (while serving as Ohio’s Director of ‘Health’),” he said. “They’re more focused on covering it up rather than covering the news, dismissing the latest as a one-off incident rather than a repeated pattern of behavior dating back over a decade. Let’s see how they respond now after learning that Acton lied to their faces.”
The incident also led the Ohio Republican Party to circulate an AI-altered image of Acton’s jeep, which she had decked out for her campaign, with a license plate reading “DRUNK MOM.”
Attacks on Acton expanded to her medical qualifications as well after a pro-Ramaswamy political action committee aired an advertisement questioning her medical credentials as a physician and raising allegations involving misuse of alcohol and prescription medication.
The advertisement cited a negative evaluation from her first-year medical internship in 1990, information from a 1994 medical licensing application, and the 2019 police incident.
Acton’s campaign accused the organization of exploiting her childhood sexual abuse while improperly portraying her medical resume.
COVID-19 decisions return to the spotlight
Beyond her personal life, Ramaswamy has repeatedly targeted Acton’s tenure as Ohio’s health director during the COVID-19 pandemic, when she became one of the state’s most recognizable public officials.
Republican advertisements have criticized her role in school and business closures, restrictions on public gatherings, and nursing home visitation policies. One advertisement blamed Acton for a woman’s mother dying in isolation during the pandemic, which was later disputed by fact-checkers who discovered the mother died in Kentucky.
Ramaswamy has also accused Acton of interfering with Ohioans’ voting rights by postponing the state’s March 2020 presidential primary as the pandemic began.
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The pandemic-handling attacks, however, have created an unusual political contradiction: DeWine, who has endorsed Ramaswamy, has repeatedly emphasized that he was ultimately responsible for the pandemic’s response.
“The decisions that were made during COVID, they were my decisions, so no one should blame someone else if they don’t like it. The buck stops with me,” DeWine said.
Beck questioned the strategy of attacking Acton over decisions that the Republican governor has publicly claimed as his own.
“It’s a puzzle to me as to why he has used that material because it clearly was the governor’s decision, not Acton’s decision,” he said.
Ramaswamy’s business record and wealth under attack
While Ramaswamy has concentrated heavily on Acton’s personal life and pandemic record, the Democrat has sought to undermine his credibility by portraying the wealthy biotech entrepreneur as a businessman who profited while investors suffered losses.
Much of that criticism has centered on Axovant, a pharmaceutical company started by Ramaswamy in 2014 that acquired rights to an experimental Alzheimer’s treatment known as intepirdine.
Ramaswamy promoted the drug’s potential before Axovant’s 2015 initial public offering, which briefly propelled the company’s valuation toward $350 million.
He reported more than $37 million in capital gains from selling part of his stake in Axovant’s parent company, Roivant, in 2015. The Alzheimer’s treatment later failed a major clinical trial in 2017, sending Axovant’s stock plunging.
Acton’s campaign has framed the situation as a “pump and dump” scheme, alleging Ramaswamy’s mother was hired to help “massage data from old clinical trials to make the drug appear more promising” before selling off his share.
Acton has also highlighted a whistleblower lawsuit involving Strive Asset Management, the investment firm Ramaswamy co-founded.
Former executive Joyce Rosely alleged the co-founder and other executives pressured her to participate in conduct she believed violated securities laws and retaliated against her when she objected. In August, a federal judge declined to dismiss her whistleblower retaliation claims, allowing that portion of the litigation to proceed. The ruling was not a finding that Ramaswamy had violated securities laws.
The allegations have become central to Acton’s attempts to characterize Ramaswamy as a dishonest businessman, with advertisements calling him a “con man” and “swindler.”
Beck said the business dealings were legitimate subjects for campaign scrutiny, particularly as voters grapple with affordability concerns.
“I think voters may pay attention to that,” Beck said of the pharmaceutical controversy.
Acton has also sought to portray Ramaswamy as disconnected from ordinary Ohioans, pointing to his personal fortune, wealthy political supporters, and business interests.
The Democrat has repeatedly criticized the financial backing Ramaswamy has received from billionaires, including Jeff Yass, Elon Musk, and Bill Ackman.
Acton has also accused Ramaswamy of prioritizing his financial interests over Ohioans, particularly regarding investments connected to technology companies seeking to build data centers in the state.
Those attacks have sought to connect questions about Ramaswamy’s business history with voters’ concerns about affordability and the influence of wealthy donors in politics.
A race defined by animosity
The animosity between the two has left Ohio voters without a gubernatorial debate ahead of Election Day.
On Sept. 2, Acton’s campaign declined a CNN invitation to debate, citing what it described as false and deeply personal attacks by Ramaswamy and his allies. Ramaswamy has repeatedly criticized the decision, arguing a candidate unwilling to debate is unprepared to lead Ohio.
The absence of a debate is not unprecedented, as DeWine declined to debate his Democratic opponent in 2022.
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Beck suggested the controversy would have little influence on voters, who already know where the candidates stand. He added that even as Election Day approaches, there is still a chance the race could reach another level of hostility.
“The Ohio campaign, at least the campaign for governor, it’s in the gutter,” he said. “Yeah, I think it’s going to get worse, actually, rather than better. I don’t expect the Acton campaign to dig up or try to dig up more dirt on Ramaswamy. I think he’s doing that to himself.”
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
