Written by :
Published on :
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Gambling911.com) - The fallout from the widely condemned Vivek Ramaswamy campaign ad featuring his opponent's mother telling people not to vote for Amy Acton continued Wednesday night.
Gambling911.com can report that BetOnline's odds on Acton shot from -350 to -450 over the last 24 hours. Her odds were at -205 just two days ago.
The Republican candidate, Ramaswamy, admitted his campaign was solely responsible for the ad featuring his Democratic opponent's estranged and elderly mother, Donna Arthur, encouraging Ohioans not to vote for Acton and called her daughter a liar.
Arthur and Acton have not been in communication since 1978 when Arthur’s husband, Cledith Arthur, was arrested and charged with the rape of then-12-year-old Acton. The arrest was covered by the Youngstown Vindicator at the time. On Tuesday, Acton’s brother, Phillip Stearns, said he and Acton were removed from their mother’s custody after Cledith Arthur’s arrest.
“Our birth mother stayed married to Amy’s rapist until he died,” Stearns said in a statement shared by Acton’s campaign.
Connie Luck, a spokesperson for Ramaswamy’s campaign, said Acton’s mother was not paid for the one-minute video, which she said will stream online and air on television.
Republican officials and conservative commentators have questioned the decision to involve Acton's estranged mother, given the documented history of childhood abuse allegations involving Acton's stepfather.
A Youngstown voter received 300 upvotes for his condemnation of Ramaswamy on Reddit.
u/OriginalOmbre in the Youngstown subreddit writes:
"I’m generally a conservative but the ad from Vivek has gotten Amy my vote. It literally is nothing but an attack campaign and is the exact reason good people don’t want to join politics."
300 upvotes in such a small community (by Reddit standards) is exceptional, and just goes to show how engaged Ohio voters are over what has transpired.
- T C Jackson, Gambling911.com
