Ramaswamy should drop ad featuring Acton’s mom, GOP governor says, as Vance accuses critics of “whining”

Updated on: October 22, 2026 / 2:15 PM EDT / CBS News

Ohio's GOP Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday that Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee to replace him, should take down an ad that features Democratic opponent Amy Acton's estranged mother calling her a liar.

DeWine's comments come one day after Vice President JD Vance told Republicans to "stop whining" about the ad.

"It's wrong to run this ad," DeWine told reporters. "I would urge Ramaswamy's campaign to take this down."

DeWine, who is term-limited, called the ad "on its face, deeply, deeply troubling" but said when one knows the backstory of allegations of abuse and neglect, "it makes it even more wrong."

DeWine refused to say if he had spoken with the Ramaswamy campaign, but said he was not rescinding his endorsement of Ramaswamy.

In response to DeWine's comments, Ramaswamy campaign spokesperson Connie Luck doubled down in defense of the ad, saying "the first and only candidate to attack the mother of her opponent in this race was Amy Acton."

"Acton's mother is speaking out about her clear pattern of lying — not abuse — and it should be covered as such, not just with the Acton campaign spin,"…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/