Backlash Mounts Against USD 5 Million 'Disownment' Ad in Ohio Governor Race

The Republican candidate behind a controversial negative advertisement in the Ohio gubernatorial race is facing a severe backlash, according to reports.

According to data obtained by U.S. online media outlet Axios on the 28th local time, a recent private mid-term election poll conducted by the Republican Party showed that Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy was trailing Democratic candidate Amy Acton by an 8-percentage-point margin.

This gap widened from a poll on the 19th, before the ad was circulated, which showed Ramaswamy trailing Acton by 2 percentage points in a tight race within the margin of error.

The ad, produced several months ago, features Acton's estranged mother, Donna Arthur, who says it is not easy for a mother to say this, but attacks Acton by stating, "My daughter is a liar."

However, it became known that Acton suffered various forms of abuse, including sexual abuse by her stepfather during her childhood, and was separated from Arthur and her stepfather at the age of 12. This sparked strong criticism that the campaign was exploiting a mother to inflict trauma on her young daughter.

Similar concerns were raised within Ramaswamy's campaign camp, but the candidate himself reportedly pushed forward with the production of the advertisement.

The campaign had decided to pour USD 4 million into broadcasting the ad across the state.

In the Republican internal poll, 86 percent of the 800 respondents answered that they were aware of the advertisement.

The response rate indicating that the ad made them more likely to vote for candidate Acton was about twice that of the opposite view.

Upon seeing the poll results, a Republican official pointed out to Axios that Vivek's ad has put Republican candidates across Ohio on the defensive, adding that he should hope Ohio does not become the state that decides the Senate majority.

As suggested by these remarks, attention is focused on how Ramaswamy's negative campaigning will impact the U.S. Senate election in Ohio.

Ohio remains one of the key battleground states identified for the Senate race so far.

Republican Senator Jon Husted, who has been trailing Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown by a margin within the margin of error, stated that if it were up to him, he would not have aired that advertisement.

There are also polls showing a different trend from the internal Republican survey.

A Suffolk University poll showed that Ramaswamy's deficit behind Acton, which stood at 9 percentage points late last month, narrowed to a 4-percentage-point gap following the advertisement.

President Donald Trump has defended the ad targeting candidate Acton, calling it a "fully legitimate attack" and saying he would have been "really lucky" to have such an ad.

Vice President JD Vance, the immediate past senator from Ohio, has also criticized Republican figures expressing negative views on the ad, telling them to "stop whining."

President Trump is visiting Chillicothe, Ohio, today for a campaign rally.

Following visits to Vandalia and Youngstown, this marks his third trip to Ohio within a month.

Senator Husted and candidate Ramaswamy are scheduled to accompany President Trump.

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.