(AFP) – Democrat Amy Acton won the race for governor in the midwestern US state of Ohio over billionaire Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, media projections showed Tuesday, in a contest that turned ugly over an attack ad. Acton’s victory, called by multiple networks, came after Ramaswamy faced a barrage of criticism over an ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother, whose husband was charged with raping Acton when she was a child.
Although Ohio has been a key battleground state, it has leaned Republican in recent years. President Donald Trump won the state in 2024 by double digits. The 60-year-old Acton is a medical doctor by training and led Ohio’s health department in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ramaswamy, who ran in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries against Trump, lost despite receiving Trump’s endorsement.
While Ramaswamy, 41, faced sharp backlash over his ad campaign, Trump continued to back the Republican candidate and accused the media of a coordinated attack to undermine his chances. US Vice President JD Vance similarly defended his “good friend” Ramaswamy while on the campaign trail in Ohio. But Democrats swiftly criticized the ad, as did some Republicans including outgoing Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, who could not run again due to term limits.
In the ad by Ramaswamy’s campaign, Acton’s estranged mother — Donna Arthur — said her daughter has “lied her entire life” and should not be allowed to become governor. Acton issued a statement last month saying that she and her brother had “endured abuse, hunger, and neglect” as children. “Between the ages of 10 and 12, I was sexually abused by her husband, while my birth mother did nothing to protect me,” she said. Arthur’s husband fled before he could be tried on the sexual assault charges and is now dead. Acton said she had not seen her mother since 1978, adding that it was “sad to see Vivek Ramaswamy exploit her all for his own political gain.”
© 2024 AFP
