What Does This Say About Them?

What does it say about their morality?

The Republican candidate for governor in Ohio just used the Democratic candidate's mother to attack her, and Vance backed him up. However...

Vance praises Ramaswamy for having 'audacity' to run controversial Amy Acton ad

Acton called the ad "a horrible and hideous thing to do."

ABC News

By Fritz Farrow, Oren Oppenheim, and Diana Paulsen

October 21, 2026

Vice President JD Vance, during a rally in Cincinnati on Wednesday, praised Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy for having the "audacity" to cut a controversial ad featuring his Democratic opponent Amy Acton's estranged mother calling her daughter a "liar" -- a move that has sparked bipartisan backlash.

"Vivek Ramaswamy had the audacity to run a TV commercial which calls it out like it is and calls Amy Acton a liar," Vance said.

But it wasn't cut-and-dried...

The ad, which circulated on social media late Monday, shows Acton's long-estranged mother, Donna Arthur, saying that she loves her daughter but that "Amy has a serious problem" and has lied about her past and her struggles growing up. The ad came nearly two weeks out from the high-stakes midterm elections where Ohio is home to not only a gubernatorial race, but also key Senate and House races that could determine the balance of power in Congress.

You see, when she was twelve, the state took her away from her parents because the husband was a s**ual assaulter... just a minor detail.

Acton has been public about her experience with abuse and openly spoken about her tumultuous relationship with her mother, whom she says she has not spoken to since she was 12 years old. Acton alleged her mother's second husband molested her between the ages of 9 and 12. Charges were filed against her stepfather, and Acton testified against him.

But the ad has generated tons of responses about making light of rape!

The National Review wrote: the JD Vance said...

“Politics is a tough business. And my message to my fellow elected Republicans is if you actually believe in the things you say you believe in, stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days.”

[...]

Instead, Ramaswamy stood by the ad and argued that the campaign should be about substantive issues. Well, Mr. Ramaswamy, you just made your willingness to attack a 12-year-old and use her being abused as a child and horrific family dynamics against her. You clearly don’t choose to lead by example. Where’s the character in that?

So what did JD find so horrible?

He also said today:

I have to admit that I’m a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America.

So JD is angrier at the the Republicans who condemned the ad then the fact that it is glossing over rape.