Ramaswamy attack ad draws hometown criticism
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Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican nominee for Governor of Ohio, speaks to a group of supporters at Price Hill Chili. Photo: Michael Swensen/Getty Images
Vivek Ramaswamy's attack ad against Amy Acton is drawing backlash in Cincinnati, where fellow St. Xavier High School graduates and a former teacher are calling for an apology.
Why it matters: The hometown criticism adds to a bipartisan backlash in Ohio's competitive governor's race a week out from Election Day.
The latest: A new internal Republican poll obtained by Axios shows Acton leading by eight points — up from two points in the same poll earlier this month, before the ad began circulating Oct. 19.
- By a 2-to-1 ratio, those polled who said they were familiar with it said it made them more likely to vote for Acton.
- A separate Suffolk University/USA Today poll found seven of 360 respondents who'd seen the ad said it shifted their support from Ramaswamy to Acton, compared with one who moved toward Ramaswamy.
Driving the news: Brian Cahill, a 1983 St. Xavier graduate, launched an online petition urging Ramaswamy, the school's 2003 valedictorian, to pull the ad and apologize.
- Cahill says the petition is alumni-led, but unaffiliated with the school, which hasn't commented.
- 2018 graduate Andrew Geraghty criticized the ad in an Enquirer guest column.
- Ramaswamy's former eighth grade teacher, Michael Pogue, protested outside a Monroe campaign stop Saturday with a sign reading, "Shame on you, Vivek! I taught you better!"
What they're saying: "We just hated to think that somewhere out there in the world, people might think that Ramaswamy was representative of our values," Cahill tells Axios.
- He says the ad clashes with St. Xavier's Jesuit principle of "Men for Others."
Even some Republicans question the strategy. Pete Witte, a longtime West Side Republican activist, says Ramaswamy should have focused on issues like EdChoice.
- "He didn't have to go there," Witte tells Axios. "That ad just stirred up controversy, but I don't think it moved voters."
Catch up quick: Ramaswamy's campaign is spending $4 million on an ad featuring Acton's estranged mother accusing her of lying about her childhood.
- Acton has said she was sexually abused at age 12 by her stepfather, who faced criminal charges, and that her mother sided with him. Court records support key parts of her account.
- Republican Gov. Mike DeWine urged Ramaswamy to pull the ad, and a few Ohio businesses canceled campaign appearances.
The other side: Ramaswamy maintains the ad has nothing to do with Acton's abuse.
- "The irony is they're lying about an ad that is about lying," he said Friday.
- His campaign did not respond to Axios' request for comment on the petition.