Ramaswamy Says Ad Featuring Amy Acton's Mother Has Stopped Airing

Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee for Ohio governor, confirmed on Thursday, October 29, that his campaign is no longer airing an attack ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton.

Asked in Vandalia, Ohio, whether the campaign had stopped running the ad, Ramaswamy said: "It ran to completion and we put up four other ads."

The ad features Donna Arthur, Acton's mother, who calls her daughter "a liar." The Guardian reported that the campaign had announced the previous week it would spend $4 million to broadcast the ad.

Arthur's own history is at the centre of the dispute. She lost custody of her daughter in 1978, when her second husband, Cledith Arthur, was charged with raping the girl between the ages of 10 and 12. Court records indicated that Cledith Arthur had lived in a tent at the time of his arrest on rape charges.

The campaign edited the original 60-second spot into a 30-second version, dropping an allegation that the family had lived in a tent. Earlier, on October 23, Ramaswamy accused Acton of lying about the ad, and court records were cited as contradicting a claim Donna Arthur made in it.

Donald Trump defended the ad, including at a rally with Ramaswamy on Wednesday, October 28.

Ramaswamy built his career in biotech, and Cleveland.com reported that biotech industry leaders criticised him over the ad.