Republican candidate for Ohio governor Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at the Butler-Vandalia Student Activity Center during a campaign rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on October 3, 2026.
Meet the Corporations Funding Ramaswamy's Vicious Attack Ad on Acton
Corporate PACs for Bank of America, Deloitte, Kroger, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and others have donated to the campaign fund running the ad, which has been criticized for exploiting Acton's history of sexual abuse.
Republican Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign is spending millions in the final weeks of his bid for Ohio governor to run an attack ad that has been criticized for exploiting his opponent Amy Acton's history of sexual abuse. The campaign is being funded by some of Ohio's and the nation's most powerful corporations and executives.
The ad, which emerged earlier this week, features Acton's estranged mother, Donna Arthur, accusing her daughter of lying about her experiences of homelessness as a child, including living in a tent. Acton, now 60, said she hasn't spoken to Arthur since 1978, when she was removed from the household after accusing her stepfather of sexually abusing her from ages 10 to 12.
Acton's brother has backed up her account, noting that their mother skipped town with Acton's stepfather after he was arrested and charged, and stayed with him until the day he died.
Acton, the former head of the Ohio Department of Health, had described her history of abuse and poverty for years before running for governor. Court records from the time have corroborated many aspects of the siblings' account, showing that she lived in a tent with her family near Youngstown. Her stepfather was also charged with incest in 1974 for allegedly raping his eldest daughter.
Observers have panned the ad as "disgusting." On Thursday, Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called the ad "just wrong" and said it should be taken down. With support from President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, however, Ramaswamy's campaign is doubling down on the message and is spending $4 million to blast the ad across the airwaves in the Buckeye State.
The ad is being funded by Vivek for Ohio, a campaign fund backed in part by dozens of major corporate political action committees (PACs) and executives, according to a review of campaign finance documents published Thursday by Popular Information.
Vivek for Ohio is funded by corporate PACs for Bank of America, Deloitte, Kroger, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Duke Energy, Charter Communications, Centene, Giant Eagle, PNC, US Bank, and BakerHostetler.
The corporate PACs for Huntington Bank, Nationwide, and NetJets also contributed to the campaign, along with their CEOs, Steve Steinour, Kirt Walker, and Adam Johnson, respectively.
Several individual executives and sports owners also contributed to Ramaswamy's campaign: DraftKings CEO Jason Robins; Rocket Companies founder Dan Gilbert; Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown; Cincinnati Reds owner Bob Castellini; Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam; and Haslam Sports Group president Dave Jenkins.
Popular Information said it contacted the companies to ask whether they believed the ad was acceptable. DraftKings declined to comment, and the others did not respond.
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Republican Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign is spending millions in the final weeks of his bid for Ohio governor to run an attack ad that has been criticized for exploiting his opponent Amy Acton's history of sexual abuse. The campaign is being funded by some of Ohio's and the nation's most powerful corporations and executives.
The ad, which emerged earlier this week, features Acton's estranged mother, Donna Arthur, accusing her daughter of lying about her experiences of homelessness as a child, including living in a tent. Acton, now 60, said she hasn't spoken to Arthur since 1978, when she was removed from the household after accusing her stepfather of sexually abusing her from ages 10 to 12.
Acton's brother has backed up her account, noting that their mother skipped town with Acton's stepfather after he was arrested and charged, and stayed with him until the day he died.
Acton, the former head of the Ohio Department of Health, had described her history of abuse and poverty for years before running for governor. Court records from the time have corroborated many aspects of the siblings' account, showing that she lived in a tent with her family near Youngstown. Her stepfather was also charged with incest in 1974 for allegedly raping his eldest daughter.
Observers have panned the ad as "disgusting." On Thursday, Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called the ad "just wrong" and said it should be taken down. With support from President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, however, Ramaswamy's campaign is doubling down on the message and is spending $4 million to blast the ad across the airwaves in the Buckeye State.
The ad is being funded by Vivek for Ohio, a campaign fund backed in part by dozens of major corporate political action committees (PACs) and executives, according to a review of campaign finance documents published Thursday by Popular Information.
Vivek for Ohio is funded by corporate PACs for Bank of America, Deloitte, Kroger, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Duke Energy, Charter Communications, Centene, Giant Eagle, PNC, US Bank, and BakerHostetler.
The corporate PACs for Huntington Bank, Nationwide, and NetJets also contributed to the campaign, along with their CEOs, Steve Steinour, Kirt Walker, and Adam Johnson, respectively.
Several individual executives and sports owners also contributed to Ramaswamy's campaign: DraftKings CEO Jason Robins; Rocket Companies founder Dan Gilbert; Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown; Cincinnati Reds owner Bob Castellini; Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam; and Haslam Sports Group president Dave Jenkins.
Popular Information said it contacted the companies to ask whether they believed the ad was acceptable. DraftKings declined to comment, and the others did not respond.
Republican Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign is spending millions in the final weeks of his bid for Ohio governor to run an attack ad that has been criticized for exploiting his opponent Amy Acton's history of sexual abuse. The campaign is being funded by some of Ohio's and the nation's most powerful corporations and executives.
The ad, which emerged earlier this week, features Acton's estranged mother, Donna Arthur, accusing her daughter of lying about her experiences of homelessness as a child, including living in a tent. Acton, now 60, said she hasn't spoken to Arthur since 1978, when she was removed from the household after accusing her stepfather of sexually abusing her from ages 10 to 12.
Acton's brother has backed up her account, noting that their mother skipped town with Acton's stepfather after he was arrested and charged, and stayed with him until the day he died.
Acton, the former head of the Ohio Department of Health, had described her history of abuse and poverty for years before running for governor. Court records from the time have corroborated many aspects of the siblings' account, showing that she lived in a tent with her family near Youngstown. Her stepfather was also charged with incest in 1974 for allegedly raping his eldest daughter.
Observers have panned the ad as "disgusting." On Thursday, Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called the ad "just wrong" and said it should be taken down. With support from President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, however, Ramaswamy's campaign is doubling down on the message and is spending $4 million to blast the ad across the airwaves in the Buckeye State.
The ad is being funded by Vivek for Ohio, a campaign fund backed in part by dozens of major corporate political action committees (PACs) and executives, according to a review of campaign finance documents published Thursday by Popular Information.
Vivek for Ohio is funded by corporate PACs for Bank of America, Deloitte, Kroger, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Duke Energy, Charter Communications, Centene, Giant Eagle, PNC, US Bank, and BakerHostetler.
The corporate PACs for Huntington Bank, Nationwide, and NetJets also contributed to the campaign, along with their CEOs, Steve Steinour, Kirt Walker, and Adam Johnson, respectively.
Several individual executives and sports owners also contributed to Ramaswamy's campaign: DraftKings CEO Jason Robins; Rocket Companies founder Dan Gilbert; Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown; Cincinnati Reds owner Bob Castellini; Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam; and Haslam Sports Group president Dave Jenkins.
Popular Information said it contacted the companies to ask whether they believed the ad was acceptable. DraftKings declined to comment, and the others did not respond.