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Politics · North America

Kissick urges Ramaswamy to quit Ohio governor race over Acton ad

Libertarian Don Kissick’s call for Republican Vivek Ramaswamy to quit over an ad featuring Democrat Amy Acton’s mother makes the ad a point of contention in Ohio’s governor race.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 4 independent reports from 5 outlets · Article text read from 1 of 4 reportsHow it's made

View timeline · 10 entries
5 outletsLatest reporting 4 min readNo new reporting in 3 days
Coverage: Center OnlyL 0 · C 3 · R 0 · 2 unrated
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What happened

Key facts

  • Don Kissick, the Libertarian Party nominee for Ohio governor, called on Vivek Ramaswamy to withdraw over an ad.
  • Don Kissick urged Vivek Ramaswamy to withdraw from the Ohio governor’s race over an ad featuring Amy Acton’s mother.
  • The ad featured Amy Acton’s mother.
  • A Ramaswamy spokesperson said the campaign would continue airing the ad and argued that Democrats had used Republicans’ family members in ads.
  • Ramaswamy said he would spend $4 million to run the ad on television and digital platforms.

The brief

Libertarian nominee Don Kissick called on Republican Vivek Ramaswamy to withdraw from Ohio’s governor race over a campaign advertisement featuring Amy Acton’s mother. WVXU reported that a Ramaswamy spokesperson said the campaign would keep running the ad. Ramaswamy also took credit for it and said he would spend $4 million to put it on television and digital platforms.

The ad features Donna Arthur discussing her daughter. According to WVXU, Arthur called Acton a liar over public statements about being sexually assaulted as a child and living in a tent. Acton is the Democratic candidate for governor, while Ramaswamy is the Republican candidate. Kissick, the Libertarian nominee, criticized the ad in an interview with WVXU.

He said Ramaswamy did not have the character to lead and called the use of Acton’s history of abuse in political advertisements distasteful. Kissick’s demand was that Ramaswamy leave the race; the spokesperson’s stated position was that the campaign would continue airing the ad. WVXU reported that Acton’s brother, Phillip Stearns, backed her statements.

The outlet also said court documents show Cledith Arthur was indicted on charges of raping Amy when she was 12, in 1978. The indictment is a charge, not a conviction. The station reported that Donna Arthur chose to stay with Cledith Arthur and remained married to him until his death in 2004.

Acton said she has not been in contact with her mother since Donna Arthur lost custody of her children. In defending the ad’s continued use, a Ramaswamy spokesperson argued that Democrats had regularly used family members of President Trump, RFK Jr. and other Republicans in advertisements.

The spokesperson did not say that the campaign would withdraw or change its plan; Ramaswamy instead announced the $4 million advertising spend. Kissick’s call and the campaign’s stated intention to continue therefore present opposing positions on the ad and Ramaswamy’s candidacy.

Why it matters

  • Acton’s family history is being used in a campaign advertisement, including claims about childhood sexual assault and living in a tent.
  • Kissick is calling for Ramaswamy to leave the governor’s race, while the campaign says it will continue running the ad.
  • Ramaswamy said he would spend $4 million on television and digital advertising, making the ad’s continued distribution a stated campaign decision.

What to watch next

  • Whether Ramaswamy’s campaign continues running the advertisement, as its spokesperson said it would.
  • Whether Ramaswamy proceeds with the stated $4 million television and digital advertising spend.
  • Whether Kissick maintains his call for Ramaswamy to withdraw from Ohio’s governor race.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
5 source articles · 5 unique outlets · 4 distinct reports
Outlet political mix: Center Only· 3 Center · 2 unrated
Where the outlets are based: Unknown 100%
Outlet political mix
Center Only
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
3 outlets
0 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 2 unrated outlets are not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
5 unique outlets
Coverage imbalance
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among Center-rated outlets (3 of 3 rated sources); comparatively few Left or Right-rated outlets have published on the event.
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among outlets based in Unknown (5 of 5 geographically-identified sources).
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

Updat3 does not yet have enough full reports to compare how outlets framed this story.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. The account does not describe what Arthur says in the ad, explain her relationship with Acton, or provide details about Acton’s brother, court documents or allegations from 1978.
    Background · from our historical context
  2. Ohio voters approved the state’s gubernatorial term limit on Nov. 3, 1992: a governor may serve no more than two consecutive four-year terms.
    Background · from our historical context
  3. DeWine appointed her director of the Ohio Department of Health in 2019.
    Background · from our historical context
  4. In March 2020, as infections spread and governments moved to limit transmission, Acton became a prominent public health official alongside DeWine.
    Background · from our historical context
  5. Amy Acton issued an Ohio stay-at-home order that took effect the next day.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  6. Ohio issued a stay-at-home order effective March 23, 2020.
    Background · from our historical context
  7. Acton resigned as health director in June 2020 but remained involved in the state’s COVID response as a senior adviser.
    Background · from our historical context
  8. Republican Mike DeWine won a second term as Ohio governor.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  9. Amy Acton announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Ohio governor.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  10. Vivek Ramaswamy entered the Ohio governor’s race.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

Ohio’s 2026 governor’s race is open because Republican Mike DeWine, elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022, is barred from seeking a third consecutive term. Ohio voters approved the state’s gubernatorial term limit on Nov. 3, 1992: a governor may serve no more than two consecutive four-year terms.

The rule prevents DeWine from running for another uninterrupted term; it does not permanently disqualify a former governor who has spent time out of office. The campaign dispute centers on an ad featuring Donna Arthur, the mother of Democrat Amy Acton.

Original sources

5 articles from 5 outlets · Unknown · Show all

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