McCain decries ‘dastardly’ political ad with Acton’s mother

Meghan McCain, former Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) daughter, decried what she called a “dastardly” political ad featuring Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton’s (D) estranged mother.

“This is a dastardly ad. It never should have been created. Shame on whatever consultant firm created this,” McCain wrote on social platform X Tuesday.

McCain’s response came amid a wave of backlash surrounding the political ad, in which Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, called her daughter a “liar.”

“She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true. She’s lied her entire life. My daughter needs help, and she can’t help you if she needs help herself,” Arthur said before telling voter to not let “her become your governor.”

The clip appears to be part of a campaign-style ad, but it is unclear who is backing or paying for it. When asked about the video, a spokesperson for her Republican gubernatorial opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, told The Hill, “We don’t know what happened between Amy and her mother.”

The spokesperson continued, “But we know that Amy Acton is a serial fabulist who has some serious problems with the truth that the public needs to be aware of before deciding who to entrust as governor.”

Acton said in a 2019 interview with The Vindicator that while living with her mother in the aftermath of her parent’s divorce, she experienced sexual abuse, neglect and a period of homelessness.

Eventually, charges were filed against Acton’s stepfather, and she moved in with her father and relatives.

Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, responded in a press release to the ad on Tuesday, stating it was “not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at twelve years old from our birth mother’s husband into a political talking point.”

“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 added.