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Iowa Republican Senate candidate Rep. Ashley Hinson strongly condemned a campaign ad from Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy that features the estranged mother of Democratic candidate Amy Acton, calling for the ad to be pulled. Hinson made the remarks in an interview with ABC News’ Jonathan Karl that was conducted on Thursday and is set to air Sunday; hours earlier, former President Donald Trump posted a defense of the ad ahead of a rally in Iowa where he was scheduled to appear with Hinson, according to ABC News.
Hinson: the ad forces a survivor to relive trauma
In the ABC News interview, Hinson said the ad was “terrible” and urged Ramaswamy’s campaign to take it down. “I think about it as a mom and you think about your kids surviving childhood sexual abuse and having to relive that trauma on TV again. I think it’s absolutely terrible, and I think they should take the ad down,” she told Karl on Thursday from Iowa, ABC News reported.
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Hinson also criticized J.D. Vance for defending Ramaswamy, calling Vance’s stance “ridiculous” and saying it “sends absolutely the wrong message.” “Iowans want — and probably Ohioans want — someone who’s going to be an empathetic leader,” she added. Hinson noted that, despite likely policy differences with Acton, she would not want an opponent forced to relive childhood trauma on the campaign trail, and said the ad “should come down,” ABC News reported.
What the ad and Acton have said
The ad, which circulated on social media late Monday, shows Amy Acton’s long-estranged mother, Donna Arthur, saying she loves her daughter but that “Amy has a serious problem” and has lied about her past and struggles growing up, ABC News reported. Acton has publicly discussed her tumultuous relationship with her mother and has said she has not spoken to her since she was 12. Acton has alleged that her mother’s second husband molested her between the ages of 9 and 12; charges were filed against her stepfather and Acton testified against him, according to ABC News.
At a campaign event on Wednesday, Acton described the ad as “horrible and hideous,” ABC News reported.
Trump and other Republicans respond
Former President Trump, who endorsed Hinson before Iowa’s GOP primary, defended the Ramaswamy ad in a social-media post on Thursday, writing that Ramaswamy “should keep it up” and calling the spot “hitting paydirt.” Trump also wrote that a mother talking about her daughter “would normally lead to the daughter being precluded from serving in Office, let alone the Office of Governor,” ABC News reported.
When asked about Hinson’s comments as he left the White House for Iowa on Thursday, Trump said, “That’s her opinion,” and added that he did not see a reason to shield the mother’s comments. He also criticized Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who had called the ad “deeply, deeply troubling” and urged Ramaswamy to take it down; Trump suggested DeWine “probably wants a Dumocrat to win,” ABC News reported.
ABC News also reported that Vance defended Ramaswamy on Wednesday, saying he was “disgusted” to see Republicans across the country “whining” about the ad.
Political context
The ad’s release comes roughly two weeks before the midterm elections, when Ohio voters will choose a new governor as well as seats in the U.S. Senate and House that could affect the balance of power in Congress, ABC News reported. Hinson, 43, is one of the more high-profile Republican women running this cycle; if she wins in November she would become the youngest female Republican senator in the U.S. Senate, ABC News reported.
Trump was scheduled to hold a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, on Thursday evening — the first of two final midterm rallies in the state — where Hinson was set to appear alongside him as he boosted GOP candidates down the ballot, ABC News reported.
