Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) on Wednesday waded into an advertising controversy engulfing fellow Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s gubernatorial campaign, putting himself at odds with his Ohio colleague.
Ramaswamy, who is challenging Democrat Amy Acton for the governor’s seat, has come under attack from some critics for airing a campaign ad this week featuring Acton’s estranged mother slamming her daughter as a troubled liar. The ad has triggered pushback from Acton’s campaign due to accusations that Donna Arthur was a negligent and abusive mother who should not be given a platform.
While some Republicans, such as President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, have defended Ramaswamy in the final stretch of his competitive race against Acton, others have slammed him for airing the negative ad. Husted, who is in his own tight battle in Ohio against Democratic Senate nominee Sherrod Brown, added his voice this week to the chorus of GOP critics, telling the Associated Press, “I would not have run that ad.”
Husted’s positioning comes after his rival in the tight Senate race, Brown, called the ad “disgusting.”
“Everyone, including Jon Husted, should be willing to condemn this ad,” Brown said.
Republicans such as media personality Meghan McCain and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley have also criticized the ad.
But others have stood by Ramaswamy, with Trump saying Wednesday, “It’s a very unusual situation to have a mother hate a daughter that much.”
“The fact is, I know nothing about it,” the president told reporters. “But I hear the mother went very rogue on the daughter, doesn’t have a lot of respect for the daughter, and I think the mother is a witness to things also. So who knows? And you have to figure that out. But I don’t think that has anything to do with Vivek.”
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Vance, who held a rally in Ohio seeking to boost Ramaswamy on Wednesday, also voiced support and said he was “disgusted” with Republicans for targeting the GOP candidate.
“Whether the ad was appropriate or not is not really my concern,” the vice president said. “My concern is who is gonna govern. I have to admit I’m a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans who are whining more about that ad than they are about what the Democrats want to do.”
