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MAGA Candidate Hit With Humiliating Snub After Twisted Ad

Vivek Ramaswamy faces venue cancellations and GOP backlash over a vile attack ad.

Would-be Ohio governor Vivek Ramaswamy is facing growing backlash over a hateful attack ad against his Democratic opponent, with two venues pulling the plug on campaign events at which he was scheduled to appear.

The cancellations came after the Ohio Republican Party launched an 11-day statewide bus tour, hoping to rally voters before next Tuesday’s midterm elections. The controversy surrounding the billionaire’s $4 million attack ad against Democratic rival Amy Acton is threatening to overshadow the party’s final push.

The Old Dog Ale House & Brewery in Delaware called off a GOP gathering scheduled for last Friday, USA Today reporter Jessie Balmert reported. Elliot’s Wood Fired Kitchen in Newark also confirmed on Facebook that it would not host a planned Republican event on Tuesday.

The Ohio Republican Party has indicated it intends to reschedule both appearances.

One Ohio Republican, speaking anonymously to Zeteo, said organizers were “getting calls that people don’t want him there.”

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The backlash has extended to other venues that did host Republican events over the weekend. Kick-N-Ax in Zanesville, Izzy’s in Monroe, and The Local Bar in Strongsville have all reportedly been hit with waves of one-star Google reviews, some featuring photographs of Ramaswamy at the establishments.

The Daily Beast has contacted Ramaswamy’s campaign for comment.

The uproar centers on an attack ad released by Ramaswamy’s campaign featuring Donna Arthur, Acton’s estranged mother, who accuses her daughter of lying about being raped by her own stepfather as a child.

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The ad ends with Arthur urging Ohio voters to reject the Democratic candidate.

Acton has said she was repeatedly sexually abused between the ages of 10 and 12 by her stepfather, Cledith “Bud” Arthur, while her mother failed to protect her and remained married to him until his death after fleeing the state with him after he was charged with rape.

The ad provoked massive backlash against Ramaswamy, who is trailing Acton in the polls.

Several current and former lawmakers have condemned the advert while President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have defended it.

Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who is taking part in the party’s statewide bus tour, said he “would not have run that ad.”

Every living former and current Ohio governor has also disowned the campaign. Former Gov. Mike DeWine called the advert “wrong” and urged Ramaswamy to withdraw it.

The controversy has also prompted The Plain Dealer, Ohio’s largest newspaper, to break with its policy of not endorsing candidates in major races, backing Acton for governor on Sunday.

Acton responded publicly to the advert, writing on Facebook: “Between the ages of 10 and 12, I was sexually abused by her husband, while my birth mother did nothing to protect me.”

She accused Ramaswamy of exploiting her painful childhood experiences for political gain, adding that she believed her mother was “deeply sick and unwell.”

Her brother, Philip Stearns, also launched a blistering attack on the Republican candidate, accusing him of turning Acton’s childhood abuse into a campaign talking point.

“This desperate, disgusting attack reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core,” Stearns said, describing the ad as a reprehensible attempt to gain political advantage.

Despite the backlash, Ramaswamy’s team has stood firmly behind the ad.

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Campaign spokesperson Connie Luck said the campaign did not know what had happened between Acton and her mother, but accused the Democrat of repeatedly misleading the public.

“We don’t know what happened between Amy and her mother, who first spoke out about Amy in 2020, 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,” Luck said in a statement.

Ramaswamy also showed no sign of backing down when questioned about the ad on Fox News’ Fox & Friends on Monday.

Asked whether he regretted the attack, he pointed to what he described as attacks against him and his family by Democrats.

“They’ve attacked me. They’ve defamed my mother to media silence. It’s unbelievable,” he said. “We’re standing for truth.”

Ramaswamy appeared to be referring to an investigative report previously cited by Acton’s campaign concerning his mother, Geetha, and her role at a pharmaceutical company he ran. The report alleged that she had manipulated clinical trial data, claims Ramaswamy’s campaign has dismissed as “slanderous.”

He rejected the criticism of his own ad, accusing Democrats of hypocrisy and describing Acton as “crazy, unstable and dishonest.”

“The irony is, they’re lying about an ad that was about her lying,” he said.

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