She is a liar. She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true. She’s lied her entire life.

In the video Donna Arthur, who identifies herself as Acton's mother, says Acton's account of living in a tent is untrue. The Ramaswamy campaign confirmed on Oct. 20 that the video is its ad and said it would spend $4 million to promote it; it said Arthur was not paid. Acton has said publicly since 2019 that she was abused as a child and that her family lived in a tent one winter; she described the tent in her July 28, 2026 ad "Tent". Court records, as the Statehouse News Bureau, the Associated Press and The Vindicator report them, show that her stepfather, Cledith Arthur, was arrested in July 1978 on a charge of raping her when she was 12, pleaded not guilty, was indicted that September and was declared a fugitive after missing a court date in October 1978; FactCheck.org reports a further warrant in 1981 and that the authorities were still looking for him in 1983. He died in 2004 without a trial. The Vindicator reports a 1982 record showing Cledith Arthur living in a tent and calls it confirmation of Acton's account. FactCheck.org, which read records the Acton campaign provided, describes it as a 1982 police report of an interview with a campground manager who said Cledith Arthur had lived at the campground some years earlier, and reports that the 1978 arrest paperwork lists that campground as his address. As reported, neither record names Acton herself as living there. CBS News reports that records provided by Acton's campaign show the family lived in a tent for a year; those records have not been published. Her mother lost custody of Acton and her brother after the indictment and stayed married to him. In a 2020 interview written up by Operation Rescue, Arthur said the family was never homeless during her years as a single mother and moved twice after she remarried; that write-up does not address the tent. On Oct. 22 Gov. Mike DeWine called the ad "deeply, deeply troubling" and urged the Ramaswamy campaign to take it down, while keeping his endorsement; President Trump wrote that he had suggested Ramaswamy keep the ad up; Sen. Jon Husted said he "would not have run that ad," CBS News reported. On Oct. 23, at a Republican bus-tour stop in Strongsville where about two dozen protesters stood outside, Ramaswamy said he would not pull the ad and told WEWS, "Our ad had nothing, nothing to do with childhood abuse, sexual abuse." The same day DeWine said, "I certainly stand by my original comments," and WEWS reports that he will not campaign with Ramaswamy and that Auditor Keith Faber and Secretary of State Frank LaRose, like Husted, said they would not have run the ad. At the Oct. 24 Cleveland rally with Barack Obama, Acton said, "My opponent has chosen to exploit intentionally my childhood to save his struggling campaign, but it's not going to work." By Oct. 26 the ad was airing as 30-second spots re-edited from the 60-second version; the Statehouse News Bureau reports the shorter cut omits the line "She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true."

Topics: Elections, Children.

• …but Amy Acton refuses.

  A campaign television advertisement, "Real Leaders Listen" · September 17, 2026

• Two months later, she died. Amy Acton is to blame for this.

  A campaign television advertisement, "Linda Interview", in which Linda Caudill speaks · August 24, 2026 · WKRC · WVXU

• Acton hiked taxes and made everything cost more

  A campaign television advertisement set in an imagined future · August 2026 · cleveland.com

• Vivek Ramaswamy backs law enforcement and is endorsed by the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police and 67 county sheriffs.

  A campaign television advertisement, "Law Enforcement," from Ramaswamy for OH Governor / McColley for OH Lt. Governor, as catalogued by AdImpact (AdImpact lists it as started airing 07/28/26) · July 28, 2026

• OHIO HAD THE MOST ELDERLY DEATHS IN THE MIDWEST

  On-screen text in a campaign television advertisement, "Ohio's COVID Czar" · June 12, 2026

• Amy Acton called off Ohio's election at the last minute

  A campaign advertisement · April 2026 · PolitiFact: Mostly False · WVXU

• Jan. 6 now does look like it was an inside job.

  A Republican presidential primary debate in Alabama · December 6, 2023 · PolitiFact: Pants on Fire

• The great replacement theory is not some grand right-wing conspiracy theory. But a basic statement of the Democratic Party's platform.

  A Republican presidential primary debate · December 2023 · PolitiFact: Pants on Fire

Every claim filed under Vivek Ramaswamy

1. GOP candidate for Ohio governor confirms ad featuring Democratic opponent's mother is his · The Statehouse News Bureau (Jo Ingles) · 2026-10-20 · accessed 2026-10-21
2. ‘She is a Liar!’ Ohio Democratic Gov Candidate Is Trashed by Her Own Mother in Absolutely Bonkers Ad · Mediaite (Sean James) · 2026-10-20 · accessed 2026-10-21
3. Ramaswamy Says “It Is an Ad From Our Campaign,” Putting $4 Million Behind Spot Featuring Acton’s Estranged Mother · 2paragraphs News (Aurora DeStefano) · 2026-10-21 · accessed 2026-10-21
4. Ramaswamy campaign says it produced ad with Amy Acton's mother and will spend millions to promote it · PBS News (Associated Press, Julie Carr Smyth) · 2026-10-21 · accessed 2026-10-21
5. Ohio Health Director's Mother Comes Forward to Set the Record Straight About Daughter's Troubled Past · Operation Rescue (Cheryl Sullenger) · 2020-06-03 · accessed 2026-10-21
6. DeWine: Ramaswamy ad featuring Acton's mother 'deeply troubling', but his endorsement stands · Statehouse News Bureau (Karen Kasler) · 2026-10-22 · accessed 2026-10-22
7. Trump says he recommended "powerful" Ramaswamy ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother stay up · CBS News · 2026-10-22 · accessed 2026-10-22
8. Ramaswamy tries to reframe controversial ad, claiming it wasn't about child sex abuse amid protests · WEWS News 5 Cleveland (Morgan Trau) · 2026-10-23 · accessed 2026-10-24
9. Vivek Ramaswamy defends ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother · PBS News (Associated Press) · 2026-10-23 · accessed 2026-10-24
10. In Cleveland, Obama says road to block Trump's agenda runs through Ohio in midterms · Ideastream Public Media · 2026-10-24 · accessed 2026-10-24
11. How Ramaswamy is refocusing message in his controversial ad in Ohio · The Statehouse News Bureau (Jo Ingles) · 2026-10-26 · accessed 2026-10-29
12. Acton’s estranged mother calls daughter ‘liar’ · The Vindicator (David Skolnick) · 2026-10-21 · accessed 2026-10-21
13. Democrat Amy Acton’s estranged mother calls her liar in ad; court documents say otherwise · WEWS News 5 Cleveland (Morgan Trau) · 2026-10-20 · accessed 2026-10-21
14. State health director’s passion come from Youngstown · The Vindicator (Todd Franko) · 2019-08-31 · accessed 2026-10-21
15. Amy Acton Campaign for Governor Launches First Ad of Campaign, Highlights Commitment to Lowering Costs and Fighting for a Better Ohio · Amy Acton for Governor · 2026-07-28 · accessed 2026-10-21
16. Ohio governor's race takes ugly turn with Ramaswamy attack ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother · CBS News (Caroline Linton) · 2026-10-21 · accessed 2026-10-21
17. Controversial Ohio Ad Calls Acton a 'Liar,' But Records Back Her Account of Childhood (updated Oct. 22) · FactCheck.org (Paul Cuno-Booth) · 2026-10-21 · accessed 2026-10-22
18. Abuse and estrangement: What Ramaswamy’s Ohio governor’s race ad with Amy Acton’s mom didn’t mention · PolitiFact · 2026-10-21 · accessed 2026-10-22