Amy Acton's Brother Condemns Ad Attacking Ohio Governor Candidate

A political dispute has erupted in Ohio's gubernatorial race after an unaired advertisement featuring Dr. Amy Acton's estranged mother circulated on social media. Philip Stearns, Acton's brother, condemned the video on October 20, 2026, accusing Vivek Ramaswamy of exploiting Acton's childhood sexual abuse for political purposes.

The advertisement features Donna Stearns Arthur criticizing her daughter and urging Ohio voters not to support her candidacy. The clip was shared by blogger The Rooster on October 19, but it does not identify who paid for the advertisement.

Stearns issued his response in a statement provided by Acton's campaign, directly challenging the use of his sister's childhood experiences in the political contest.

"It is 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," said Philip Stearns.

Stearns said their mother remained married to Cledith Arthur after authorities intervened and removed the children from the couple's custody.

"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," Stearns said of Cledith Arthur. "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."

The video presents a conflicting account of Acton's upbringing, which she has previously described as involving homelessness, neglect and abuse. In the advertisement, Arthur challenges her daughter's account of those experiences and calls on voters to reject her candidacy.

"It is not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy has a serious problem," Arthur says in the advertisement.

Arthur then directly questions her daughter's credibility.

"She is a liar. She lies about her past," Arthur says.

Ramaswamy's campaign did not respond to phone calls and text messages seeking comment on October 20. Columbus-based advertising tracker Medium Buying indicated that the advertisement did not appear to be airing on television.

Republican political figures also circulated the clip online. Donald Trump Jr. commented on the video while encouraging Ohio residents to consider its implications.

"Yikes! Ohio watch this and think about what it means," Donald Trump Jr. wrote.

Acton previously described her childhood in an article published by the Youngstown Vindicator in August 2019. She recalled moving frequently before turning 12 and living in numerous homes, including an unfinished basement and a tent outside Youngstown.

Acton described the number of homes she lived in before age 12 as "18 or so." She also recalled frequent moves associated with her mother's relationships.

The abuse became more severe when her stepfather, Cledith Arthur, sexually abused her at age 12. According to the Youngstown Vindicator's contemporary reporting, Austintown Police arrested him in August 1978 on a rape charge involving a 12-year-old girl.

The newspaper described the case as following an investigation initiated by the girl's father, a phrase that appeared in its report at the time.

Cledith Arthur left the state before a conviction. Court records cited in the report show that arrest warrants were issued in December 1981 and October 1987. He died in southern Pennsylvania in 2004.

Stearns has also described the effect of their childhood experiences, saying his sister endured particularly severe abuse while attempting to protect him.

"I received a lot of abuse, but Amy always got the worst of it. 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," Stearns said.

The latest advertisement is not the first public instance of Arthur disputing her daughter's account. In 2020, while Acton was serving as Ohio's state health director, Arthur raised concerns about her daughter's background with an anti-abortion group.