A major row has erupted in the race for the next Ohio governor after Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy released an advert targeting Democrat opponent Amy Acton.
The advert featured Amy Acton’s estranged mother, Donna Arthur, who attacked the 60-year-old Democrat candidate as a “liar.” The advertisement sparked a row in the Ohio gubernatorial race as Ramaswamy faced criticism for bringing up a highly personal issue in an election advert. The campaign has since released a statement explaining their stance.
Amy Acton and her brother Philip Stearns were separated from Donna Arthur after Amy Acton alleged that their stepfather, Cledith Arthur raped her when she was 12.
In the 60-second ad, Acton’s estranged mother says, “Amy has a serious problem. She is a liar. She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true.”
“My daughter needs help…Don’t vote for people who lie. Don’t let her become your governor. If you think she’ll make your life better, you’re fooling yourself. It will only get worse.”
Cledith Arthur was arrested and faced charges in Ohio, but evaded conviction till his 2004 death in Pennsylvania. Donna Arthur sided with him, and the two remained married even as Cledith evaded conviction till, at least, 1981, and later fled the state.
After the incident, Donna Arthur lost custody of Amy and Phillip and their biological father, Gerald Stearns, who had reported the alleged rape to the police, took over.
Inside Donna Arthur’s Custody Loss Of Her Children In 1978
Gerald Stearns reported the alleged incident to the police in Ohio in July 1978. After that, Cledith Arthur was arrested and indicted. Donna Arthur strongly sided with Cledith and stood by him during the legal proceedings.
Ohio state authorities stepped in after that noting that Amy Acton and Phillip Stearns were suffering neglect and abuse with Donna and gave custody of the two children to Gerald Stearns after legally removing them.
Donna Arthur never sought to regain custody of Amy Acton and Phillip Stearns. She later fled the state with Cledith Arthur, skipping a court hearing, and went into hiding together till his death in 2004 in Pennsylvania.
Amy Acton says that she has not spoken to her mother since 1978. In a 2019 interview with The Youngstown Vindicator she said that she last saw her mother during one of the trial sessions of Cledith Arthur. “I went to give her a kiss, and she just turned her cheek away,” she had said.
Also read: Who is Amy Acton’s husband Eric? All about their family and children
Amy Acton Reacts To Vivek Ramaswamy Advert
Amy Acton appeared for an interview on Spectrum News and discussed Vivek Ramaswamy’s 60-second advert. She said she won’t debate the ad and called for a stop on “normalizing this sort of rhetoric.”
“I won’t normalize somebody who has said that my childhood is ‘something I’m just complaining about,’ who today, just released an ad using my birth mother, who I was removed from at the age of 12 for severe abuse and neglect and sexual abuse,” Amy Acton said.
“The words our leaders use matter and I think it’s gonna take courage right now from all of us to stop normalizing this sort of rhetoric,” she added.
Phillip Stearns has since released a statement condemning the ad. “After he was arrested and Amy and I were removed from their custody, our birth mother stayed married to Amy’s rapist until he died,” he said.
“This desperate, disgusting attack reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core — a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants.”
A Marist Poll released on Tuesday, October 20, shows that Amy Acton has a comfortable 7-percentage-point lead over Vivek Ramaswamy in the US midterm elections.
