LEILA FADEL, HOST:
An attack ad from Ohio's Republican candidate for governor is itself being attacked by Democrats and some Republicans. They say it goes too far. The ad from Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign features the estranged mother of Democratic candidate Amy Acton, someone who Acton says stood by while her stepfather abused her. George Shillcock of WOSU Public Media in Columbus is covering this. And just a warning here - we're about to discuss the sexual assault of a child. Good morning, George.
GEORGE SHILLCOCK, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: So what is in this ad against Acton?
SHILLCOCK: So the ad opens with her mother, Donna Arthur, warning people not to vote for her daughter and saying she has a problem.
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DONNA ARTHUR: She is a liar. She lies about her past.
SHILLCOCK: Specifically, Arthur refutes stories that Acton has told for years about her difficult childhood. We found out Tuesday that Ramaswamy's campaign produced the ad.
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VIVEK RAMASWAMY: I would love for this race and this election to be about the substantive issues that impact Ohioans. And unfortunately, Amy Acton has been hiding from those issues.
SHILLCOCK: He says he wants to debate Acton. And his campaign is spending millions to put this ad on air before Election Day.
FADEL: Now, WOSU had the first interview with Acton about this ad. What did she say?
SHILLCOCK: Yeah. She was on our talk show, All Sides with Amy Juravich. We already had her booked. And she explained first how she and her mother had been estranged for over 50 years. Court records produced by the campaign - and we verified all of this - show that they were homeless for a time and that Arthur lost custody of Acton and her little brother.
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AMY ACTON: I was removed from her at the age of 12 - my brother was 9 - for child abuse and neglect that got bad enough, we were actually living in a tent in the middle of winter.
SHILLCOCK: Acton has said this before. But she also said that before she turned 12, her stepfather raped her. Acton's stepfather was charged with child rape, but left the state with Arthur before he could be tried. He's since died. And Acton says it was awful to see her mother used this way.
FADEL: Let's talk a little more about what's at stake in this race. Ohio hasn't elected a Democratic governor in 20 years, but does that look like a possibility this time?
SHILLCOCK: Well, Trump has won the state three times, but the Cook Political Report rates this as a toss-up. Bowling Green State University political science professor Robert Alexander thinks the ad could backfire on Ramaswamy by motivating Acton's supporters.
ROBERT ALEXANDER: We know right now that it's a pretty tough environment for Republicans, and negative advertising can really stimulate that turnout among your core supporters. But again, it can also cause that backlash.
SHILLCOCK: And he says this kind of advertising will likely lead to more of that.
FADEL: So as a result of all this, the race now has the country's attention in a way it didn't last week. What has the reaction been?
SHILLCOCK: Right. A rally in Ohio - Vice President JD Vance doubled down on the ad's liar language. He said he's, quote, "a little bit disgusted," end quote, when he sees Republicans who are whining about that ad. One of the Republicans criticizing the ad is former U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who posted on X that Ramaswamy is a, quote, "bad guy." Libertarian candidate for Ohio Governor Don Kissick has called on Ramaswamy to drop out. And meanwhile, Trump and former President Barack Obama plan to come here to campaign for their party's candidates in the coming week.
FADEL: That's George Shillcock of WOSU in Columbus, Ohio. Thank you, George.
SHILLCOCK: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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