Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York said the recent attack ad against Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, featuring her estranged mother calling her a liar, was unsettling.
“You know, when I saw this, I thought, there’s something really weird about this,” York said Tuesday on The Hugh Hewitt Show. “And then I looked up kind of a long story about Amy Acton’s troubled childhood family history.”
Acton has spoken publicly about the abuse she endured growing up and said she hasn’t seen her mother since 1978, after she testified at 12 years old about the sexual abuse she suffered from her stepfather. The campaign ad showed Acton’s birth mother, Donna Arthur, calling her daughter a liar who made fake claims about growing up in a tent.
“I love my daughter, but when I saw her lying about her opponent, it’s not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy has a serious problem,” Arthur said in the ad. “She is a liar.”
York said Arthur didn’t appear to be in any condition to publicly comment on her daughter’s campaign.
“My initial reaction was, you know, this woman is not entirely compos mentis here, and this is not really something that’s going to play any sort of reasonable part in the campaign,” York said.
York said he didn’t know how the ad came out or who was behind it.
“But if I were running against Amy Acton, I think I would just ignore it,” York said.
However, Acton’s opponent, Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy, confirmed late Tuesday he was responsible for the ad and that he planned to continue promoting it despite bipartisan backlash. He plans to move forward with a $4 million investment to run the ad.
Acton released a statement on Facebook in response, reflecting on her childhood where she and her brother, Philip Stearns, “endured abuse, hunger, and neglect — even spending one winter homeless living in a tent.” Acton accused her birth mother of having a “violent and erratic temper” and reiterated how she was sexually abused by her stepfather from ages 10 to 12.
“I’ve always known that she was deeply sick and unwell, and it’s sad to see Vivek Ramaswamy exploit her all for his own political gain,” Acton continued. “Eventually, I confided in my father and stepmother, and we were removed from that situation. My birth mother’s husband was arrested, charged with rape, and indicted by a grand jury. At 12 years old, I testified in court. I haven’t seen my birth mother since that day in 1978. She and her husband fled the state and he was declared a fugitive.”
RAMASWAMY POURS $4 MILLION INTO AD FEATURING AMY ACTON’S ESTRANGED MOTHER
Acton said the horrific experiences from her childhood shaped her values and compassion, strengthening her belief that everyone deserves to feel safe. The challenges were part of what led her to become a doctor, she added.
“And they are why I will never stop fighting for Ohio’s most vulnerable — especially the children and families who deserve the safety, dignity, opportunity, and hope that every Ohioan should have,” she wrote. “No one in Ohio will ever be invisible to me.”