DeWine says Acton 'certainly told the truth' in his experience

Prosecutor work with rape victims shaped DeWine’s objection to Ramaswamy’s ad

At the end of a Thursday press conference, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Amy Acton, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, “certainly told the truth” in his experience working closely with her every single day. Acton is a physician and director of the Ohio Department of Health. DeWine had tried to avoid questions about the campaign and whom Ohioans should support, saying he wanted to focus on an advertisement run by Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy that featured Acton’s estranged mother, Donna Arthur. Asked whether Acton was fit to lead, DeWine said: “My experience with her and working closely with her every single day was, she certainly told the truth. That’s my experience.”

DeWine tied his objection to his early years as a prosecutor in Greene County, Ohio. He said he worked with rape victims then and realized the trauma it inflicted on them. “We all have an obligation to speak out for the victims,” he said.

DeWine said, “I would just urge the Ramaswamy campaign to take this down,” adding, “It’s just wrong.” The advertisement features Donna Arthur, with whom Acton has not spoken since she was 12. Arthur calls her daughter a “liar” and tells Ohioans not to vote for her. She says, “Don’t let her become your governor.” She adds, “If you think she’ll make your life better, you’re fooling yourself. It will only get worse.”

UPI reported that Acton does not speak with Arthur because Acton’s stepfather sexually abused her and Arthur stayed married to him, even fleeing the state with him to avoid prosecution. Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, corroborated her account in a video for Acton’s campaign. He said their “birth mother stayed married to Amy’s rapist until he died.” Stearns also called Ramaswamy “a pathetic excuse for a man.”

DeWine’s objection did not end his support for Ramaswamy. He told reporters he still endorsed the Republican nominee and said, “I’m a Republican, I endorse the whole ticket.” He continued: “On that ticket there are some amazing people, almost all of whom I have worked with in the past. Most of them for many, many years. They’re experienced, they’re good people, they’re great public servants.”

Ramaswamy and his campaign stood behind the advertisement, saying Acton had attacked Ramaswamy’s mother in a separate advertisement. That advertisement alleged that Ramaswamy had hired his mother to “manipulate clinical trial data.”

Other Republicans also objected. Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik, a member of DeWine’s cabinet, said in a post on X that the advertisement crossed a line. “I don’t have to agree with Amy Acton’s politics to believe that exploiting someone’s childhood trauma is wrong,” she said. She added: “I haven’t changed my political beliefs. I’m simply unwilling to set aside my personal values to defend a political ad.”

Vice President JD Vance, who is from Ohio, came to Ramaswamy’s defense. “I’m a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America,” he said. He then asked Ohio Republicans whether they thought Amy Acton was unfit to serve as governor of the state of Ohio and answered, “I do.”