Ramaswamy sees betting odds plummet over controversial ad using opponent’s mother

Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican candidate for Ohio governor in November’s midterm elections, has seen his betting odds plummet over a controversial ad for his campaign using his opponent’s mother to bash her. Amy Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, called the Democratic gubernatorial candidate a “liar” and urged Ohians not to vote for her in an ad that circulated on social media Tuesday. Acton’s campaign called the ad a “disgusting smear” using her “estranged, abusive mother.”Ramaswamy, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, faced fierce backlash for the ad, even from his fellow Republicans. While at a campaign event in Westerville Tuesday, Ramaswamy was confronted by a heckler who shouted, “She was 12 years old,” apparently referring to claims that Acton’s stepfather sexually abused her when she was a child. Ramaswamy’s chances of winning the governor’s race had already been steadily slipping on the prediction market, Polymarket, but after the ad was released, his odds dropped to just 22 percent. Acton, meanwhile, had a 79 percent chance of winning on Polymarket, as of Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday’s numbers are a dramatic shift from a year ago, when Ramaswamy had a 71 percent chance of winning compared to Acton’s 30 percent chance on Polymarket. Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican candidate for Ohio governor, has seen his betting odds plummet over a controversial ad using his Democrat opponent Amy Acton’s mother to bash her (Getty Images)Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, has defended his sister and spoken out about their troubled childhood following the ad’s release. “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 12 years old from our birth mother’s husband into a political talking point,” Stearns said in a statement.“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. This desperate, disgusting attack reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core – a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants.”Ramaswamy’s campaign doubled down amid the fallout from the ad, admitting that they “don't know what happened between Amy and her mother.”“But we know that Amy Acton is a serial fabulist who has some serious problems with the truth that the public needs to be aware of before deciding who to entrust as governor,” the campaign’s statement read. Ramaswamy, an ally of President Donald Trump, faced fierce backlash for the ad, which Acton’s campaign called a ‘disgusting smear’ using her ‘estranged, abusive mother’ (Getty Images)While campaigning for Ramaswamy in Cincinnati Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance, a former Senator from Ohio, defended his long-time friend, saying, “Now the media and the Democrats in the state of Ohio are obsessed because, guess what, Vivek Ramaswamy had the audacity to run a TV commercial which calls it out like it is and calls Amy Acton a liar.”Meanwhile, conservative commentator Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Sen. John McCain from Arizona, called the ad “dastardly.”“It never should have been created. Shame on whatever consultant firm created this,” she wrote on X Tuesday. In another gauge of public opinion, Ramaswamy is trailing Amy Acton by seven points among likely voters in Ohio. Acton has 50 percent of voter support compared to Ramaswamy’s 43 percent, according to a recent survey conducted by Marist Poll before the campaign ad was released.