Key Points
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Former View cohost Meghan McCain took aim at a political attack ad targeting Democratic Ohio gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton.
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The ad uses Acton’s estranged mother, whom Acton said in the past remained with her stepfather despite Acton alleging that he molested her as a child.
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Acton’s brother released a statement condemning the ad as a “despicable low.”
Former View cohost and controversial political commentator Meghan McCain has taken aim at what appears to be a fellow conservative initiative over what she called a “dastardly” televised attack ad launched against an opponent in the ongoing Ohio gubernatorial race.
The Republican pundit slammed the ad, which targets Democratic contender Dr. Amy Acton, in the state’s increasingly hostile battle for the position in a race against prior Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
In the ad (which isn’t confirmed to be from Ramaswamy’s campaign), Acton’s estranged mother, Donna Arthur, calls her daughter’s trustworthiness into question, years after the pair last spoke in 1978 at a court date involving Acton’s stepfather. The political figure alleged that her stepfather molested her between the ages of 9 and 12, though he pleaded not guilty after a grand jury charged him with rape, per the New York Times.
“This is a dastardly ad. It never should have been created,” McCain wrote Tuesday on X, while also resharing another user’s post that included footage from the commercial. “Shame on whatever consultant firm created this.”
The commercial sees Arthur allege that Acton is “lying about her opponent,” in addition to claiming her daughter exaggerated conditions of her own childhood (Acton said she lived portions of her childhood in a tent) while on the campaign trail.
Acton and Arthur have both acknowledged their estrangement in recent years, after Arthur supported her husband in court instead of siding with her daughter in the aforementioned case.
Following the ad’s debut, Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, released a statement through his sister’s campaign, in which he called the commercial a “despicable low,” and indicated that he and Acton were removed from his mother’s custody amid the prior allegation of molestation.
“Our birth mother stayed married to Amy’s rapist until he died. 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,” Stearns wrote.
Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for Ramaswamy and Acton for comment on the ad, as well as McCain’s response.
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Ohio’s gubernatorial race will be decided on Nov. 3, when Americans head to the polls for the midterm elections — which The Viewcohost Ana Navarro recently told EW are vital for citizens to participate in.
“These elections are the most important of my life so far, because we need to stop the insanity and for there to be accountability,” she said. “I hope I can motivate people to not lose hope in the American experiment, and to go out and vote. Don’t lose hope in our democratic process.”
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