RAMASWAMY CAMPAIGN PUTS OUT AD FEATURING ACTON'S ESTRANGED MOTHER

Most campaigns caught behind an anonymous hit piece deny it for a week. Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign spent Tuesday refusing to answer whether it made the thing, then confirmed late that night that it did and announced $4 million to run the ad online and on TV before Ohio votes next month. The spot features Donna Arthur, who introduces herself as Acton's mother, calls her daughter a liar, and says the story about growing up in a tent is not true. The court file disagrees. Mahoning County records show Acton's stepfather, Cledith Arthur, was indicted in September 1978 on a felony rape charge for assaulting her at 12, and a 1982 record shows police found him living in a tent. Acton's brother Philip Stearns called the ad a despicable low and said it turns their childhood abuse into a talking point. Republicans cannot agree on what they just watched. Former Ohio House Speaker Ryan Smith posted that the party should stop normalizing bad behavior and that Ohio deserves better, while JD Vance was busy warning Republicans not to criticize the ad at all. Axios reported the campaign went all in because the spot tested well with persuadable voters. The other defense on offer: the mother was not paid. She did it for free, which is not the flex they think it is.

Why you should give a shit: Ramaswamy is spending $4 million to argue with a 1982 court record about a tent, and in under two weeks Ohio decides on its most crucial governer race in decades.