A campaign advertisement by Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy featuring his opponent Amy Acton’s estranged mother has triggered criticism from Democrats and some Republicans. Acton said she and her brother were removed from their mother’s custody after their stepfather was accused of sexually abusing her. Ramaswamy defended the ad and, according to the report, planned to spend millions of dollars airing it over the following weeks. President Donald Trump publicly defended him.
Mehek Cooke, an Ohio attorney and Republican political strategist, told Fox News Digital that attention should shift from the ad to Acton’s record. Cooke argued that Acton’s performance as Ohio’s health director during the early COVID-19 period should be central to voters’ assessment. Acton served under Republican Gov. Mike DeWine as the state closed schools, restricted businesses and gatherings, and issued a stay-at-home order. State health directives also limited nursing-home visits and closed or restricted senior centers, gyms and personal-service businesses.
Cooke criticized Acton for supporting pandemic restrictions and for leaving the health-director role amid criticism of their effects. The source notes that DeWine’s name was also on the orders. It does not establish that Acton alone made those decisions.
The nursing-home visitor restrictions and the department’s handling of death data have also featured in criticism of Acton. Ohio’s health department was sued after declining to provide facility-level COVID-19 death information. An appeals court later found that the department had violated the state public-records law. The ruling concerned the agency and did not determine that Acton personally directed the withholding of records.
Ohio gym owners also challenged closure orders in court. In the Rock House Fitness case, a court characterized the state’s actions as “arbitrary, unreasonable, and oppressive”; subsequent proceedings and changes to the orders complicated the dispute, according to the source.
The report also recounts claims made by five current and former state-government workers to the Washington Examiner about Acton’s conduct during the pandemic response. They said she was at times absent from strategy meetings and emotionally volatile. One source alleged that she was found on the floor before an emergency meeting; another said she had seen Acton crying in a bathroom. These are accounts attributed to those sources, not findings established in the material.
A separate issue in the campaign concerns a 2019 police response to a reported domestic dispute at Acton’s home. Reporting based on the police report said Acton’s daughter told officers that Acton had been drinking, throwing objects and breaking glass. The report also described a mirror being pulled from a wall and shattered. No one was injured and no charges were filed. Acton’s campaign called the incident a normal marital argument and rejected claims that it showed alcohol abuse. Acton has described broader allegations that she is an alcoholic or drug addict as false.
Cooke also criticized Acton’s comments about immigration enforcement and her perceived approach to policing. At a City Club of Cleveland forum earlier in the year, Acton questioned the presence of masked agents and compared their appearance to the Ku Klux Klan. Cooke linked the remark to concerns about law enforcement, while the source provides no further response from Acton on Cooke’s characterization.
The race has featured attacks involving candidates’ families on both sides. Cooke said Acton’s campaign had run an advertisement referring to Ramaswamy’s mother and an Alzheimer’s drug. Cooke defended the rough tone of the contest and said Ramaswamy answers questions about his business and economic record, while accusing Acton of avoiding scrutiny. Those assessments are Cooke’s opinions.
Cooke also said Acton had not agreed to debate Ramaswamy and claimed she was avoiding complex issues. The source reports that 11 days remained before voters were to choose Ohio’s next governor, but does not independently establish why Acton had not agreed to a debate. Fox News polling conducted before the advertisement controversy showed Acton leading Ramaswamy among likely voters, 50% to 48%.
