By Helen Coster
Oct 22 (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump extolled an attack ad by Republican Vivek Ramaswamy against his Democratic rival in the close Ohio governor's race on Thursday, even as the state's Republican governor advised Ramaswamy to take it down.
In the ad, Democratic candidate Amy Acton’s estranged mother, Donna Arthur, disputes Acton's account of a childhood involving homelessness and sexual abuse and urges Ohioans not to vote for her.
In a Truth Social post, Trump advised Ramaswamy
to keep running the ad.
While not referring directly to the abuse allegations, Trump said: “let everyone listen to the mother of a defective, dishonest, and incapable Candidate, explain how the daughter is a DISASTER who, uncontrollably, lies, cheats, and steals!"
Acton says she has not seen her mother since 1978. Acton's brother has supported her account of being sexually abused by her stepfather when she was a child. The stepfather, who died in 2004, was charged with rape.
Opinion polls show Acton narrowly leading Ramaswamy, and analysts say the controversy could backfire on Republicans ahead of the November 3 midterms.
'IT'S JUST WRONG,' REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR SAYSCommenting on the ad, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican, told reporters on Thursday: "It’s just wrong,” adding he would urge the Ramaswamy campaign to take down the ad.
As the backlash built on Tuesday, Ramaswamy's campaign spokesperson Connie Luck issued a statement saying: "We don't know what happened between Amy and her mother ... but we know that Amy Acton is a serial fabulist."
Acton's brother, Philip Stearns, called the ad a “desperate, disgusting attack,” while Acton campaign spokesperson Addie Bullock called Ramaswamy's decision to promote it “both despicable and entirely predictable.”
Vice President JD Vance, campaigning on Wednesday with Ramaswamy and US Senator Jon Husted, an Ohio Republican, had brushed aside the blowback.
Ramaswamy’s campaign said it was spending $4 million to promote the ad.
David Cohen, a political science professor at the University of Akron, characterized the ad as "campaign malpractice.”
Cohen said it could also mean trouble for Husted, who said in a statement that he would "not have run that ad" and who polls show trailing Democrat Sherrod Brown in a race that will help determine control of the US Senate.
Among Republicans, Cohen predicted, "I think this will either encourage some people to switch parties, or more likely, you're going to have a lot of people staying home" on Election Day.
(Reporting by Helen Coster. Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington. Editing by Jesse Mesner-Hage, Donna Bryson and Howard Goller)
