Controversial attack ad featuring Democrat’s estranged mother is off the air in Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio governor candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s controversial attack ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Dr. Amy Acton, is off the air after the Republican spent about a quarter of what his campaign initially said it would invest to run it.

Ramaswamy said during a campaign appearance in Vandalia, Ohio, on Thursday that the ad’s planned run was over. His campaign originally said it would spend $4 million to air the ad, but data from the ad-tracking firm AdImpact showed it spent roughly $1 million.

The divisive spot had provoked backlash in Ohio and among politicians of both parties across the nation. It featured Donna Arthur calling her daughter a lifelong liar. That was despite the two having not seen each other for nearly 50 years. Arthur lost custody of her children in 1978 after her husband, their stepfather, was indicted for raping Acton when she was 12.

Ramaswamy had defended the ad, though a later version trimmed some portions.

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance said they supported the decision to air the ad. The president said he told Ramaswamy to leave it on the air, adding “she’s fair game.”

Ohio governors past and present, alumni of Ramaswamy’s Catholic high school in Cincinnati and others had urged him to pull it down.

Acton’s campaign said the ad was “despicable” and should never have run and that Ramaswamy should have apologized.

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Associated Press reporter Thomas Beaumont contributed from Des Moines, Iowa.