’ROTATED OFF’

MAGA Candidate’s Sick Attack Ad Takes New Twist

The change came after a poll found that Vivek Ramaswamy’s ad had the opposite effect on voters.

Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign has discontinued the broadly condemned attack ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, after spending just a quarter of what it said it would.

In the ad, Amy Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, accuses her of being a “liar” regarding her claims of a troubled childhood—a charge that brought into the spotlight Acton’s alleged rape by her stepfather, whom Arthur defended instead of her own daughter. Arthur then lost custody of Acton and her brother. The two women have not spoken since then.

Ramaswamy, 41, suggested Thursday that the discontinuation was part of the plan.

POETIC JUSTICE

MAGA Candidate’s Vile Ad Blows Up in His Face

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“It ran to completion, and we put up four other ads,” the Trump-endorsed Ohio gubernatorial candidate said at a campaign stop in Vandalia, reported The Columbus Dispatch, whose editorial board condemned the “sinister” ad and endorsed Acton last week.

A Ramaswamy campaign official similarly told the Washington Post, “It rotated off like any ad would.”

The Republican’s campaign spent approximately $1 million to air two versions of the ad as of Thursday, according to AdImpact data reviewed by the Post. Yet his campaign initially said it would pay $4 million to air the 60-second spot throughout Ohio.

The Ramaswamy campaign did not immediately respond to a Daily Beast inquiry about whether its initial plan was to not air the ad during the final few days before the election, as it suggested, or if the ad ended in response to something else, like poor polling.

An internal GOP poll found that the ad did not have the desired effect with voters, Axios reported Wednesday. In it, Acton led by 8 points, while a poll commissioned by the same Republican group prior to the ad showed her up just 2 points.

A corresponding memo said the ad “is having a significant effect on the gubernatorial race.” Of those familiar with the ad, twice as many said it made them more likely to vote for Acton than Ramaswamy.

Meanwhile, a Marist poll from last Tuesday shows Acton up 7 points.

During the initial wave of backlash, which even came from Trump-endorsed Ohio Senate candidate Jon Husted and Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, the president and JD Vance defended the ad. Trump, for instance, showed no interest in Acton’s account of her abuse, preferring to focus solely on the word of her mother, a Republican donor whose mental health has come into question.

Vance, when pressed about whether the ad was “appropriate,” said that “is not really my concern.”

“I have to admit that I’m a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America,” he added.

FAMILY VALUES?

Trump Spews Vile Insult at Dem Sex Abuse Victim in Attack Ad

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In response to the ad, Acton, 60, fired back with one showing her brother, Phil Stearns, talk about their upbringing.

“I received a lot of abuse, but Amy always got the worst of it,” Stearns says. “She continued to receive that abuse because she knew she had to protect me from that, and if she hadn’t done that, who knows where I would have ended up.”

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Stearns continues: “She was 11 and 12 years old, and to think that that’s somehow a talking point—shame on Vivek. The contempt he has for Amy is the contempt he has for Ohio. He’s not fit to lead.”

Acton spoke out about her GOP rival Monday during an appearance on Morning Joe.

“You know, this is an era of cruelty and distraction,” she said. “I have had a rough childhood, but it has not made me weak. You know, my opponent’s PAC is called Victors Not Victims. My opponent literally featured in one of his ads a known pedophile that was in jail for eight years just recently, and has made no positive statement about the Epstein files.”

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