Amy Acton's Mother Accuses Her of Lying in Viral Campaign Ad

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An explosive campaign ad just surfaced, warning Ohio voters that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton is a liar.

The woman behind the message identifies as Donna Arthur, Acton's mother. She tells viewers her daughter lies about her past and has lied her entire life.

The clip went viral on social media within hours, racking up hundreds of thousands of views before anyone knew who made it.

Acton's brother, Phillip Stearns, pointed the finger at Republican rival Vivek Ramaswamy. His campaign team has not taken credit for the ad yet. The Daily Mail reached out to his office but did not get an immediate response. Recent polls show Ramaswamy trailing Acton by up to seven points ahead of the November 3 election.

'It's not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at twelve years old from our birth mother's husband into a political talking point,' Stearns noted.

Acton has spoken publicly about being sexually abused by her mother's husband between the ages of 9 and 12. She later moved in with her father. Ultimately, she brought charges against her mother and her husband over the abuse, Acton told The Youngstown Vindicator in 2019.

'In the courthouse after they were charged, I went to give her a kiss, and she just turned her cheek away. That was the last time I ever saw her,' Acton said.

The ad features an elderly woman stating her name is Donna Arthur and that she is Amy Acton's mother. She says her daughter needs help and cannot help others if she needs help herself. She urges Ohioans not to vote for her daughter. The message is brutal: 'Don't let her become your governor.'

Arthur claims she loves her daughter but accuses Acton of lying about her upbringing and her opponent, Ramaswamy. 'She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true,' Arthur claims before adding, 'She's lied her entire life.'

Acton's parents reportedly divorced when she was three years old. She moved repeatedly with her mother afterward, living in roughly 18 different homes by age 12. In a May interview with WKBN27, Acton said she spent one winter living in a tent at a campground before eventually moving in with her father and attending Liberty Schools.

'We experienced a lot of abuse and neglect, a lot of children services visits, and ultimately, my brother and I lived in a tent in the middle of winter,' Acton said at the time. She noted that at age 12 she was removed from that situation and moved right across Gypsy Lane.

Acton's brother, Stearns, said in his statement on Tuesday after the ad was published: 'After he was arrested and Amy and I were removed from their custody, our birth mother stayed married to Amy's rapist until he died.'

Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's team has been blamed for the ad. The video does not have a clear disclosure on it.

They have refused to claim ownership of a campaign ad they did not create. The message inside is harsh and personal. It calls the attack desperate and disgusting. It says Vivek Ramaswamy is a pathetic excuse for a man who will hurt anyone just to get what he wants. This revelation hits hard right now in Ohio. The race to replace term-limited Republican Governor Mike DeWine on November 3 has turned bitter. A poll from Marist University released Tuesday shows Acton ahead of Ramaswamy among likely voters. Fifty percent support her, while 43 percent back him. Independents lean heavily toward Acton too. Fifty-three percent of them chose her compared to just 34 percent for Ramaswamy. Yet there is one small sign of hope for the Republican candidate. Nearly half of Ohio likely voters think Ramaswamy will win the election, not Acton. That figure sits at 49 percent, while she scored 45 percent on that same question. The numbers tell a story of division and high stakes. What happens next could define the state's direction for years to come.