Republican Iowa Senate candidate Ashley Hinson sharply criticized Vice President JD Vance over his response to GOP criticism of Vivek Ramaswamy’s controversial campaign ad featuring the estranged mother of Amy Acton, his Democratic rival in the Ohio governor’s race. Hinson, who is backed by President Donald Trump in one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races, told ABC News’ This Week Sunday that the ad should be taken down. Asked by Jonathan Karl about Vance saying he was “disgusted” by Republicans condemning the ad, Hinson responded: “Yeah, no, it’s ridiculous.
It’s absolutely the wrong tone.” “Iowans want, and probably Ohioans want, someone who’s going to be an empathetic leader,” Hinson said. Newsweek reached out to the White House, Vice President Vance’s office and the Ramaswamy campaign for comment Sunday. The Ramaswamy campaign ad features Acton’s estranged mother, Donna Arthur, accusing her daughter of lying about her past and urging Ohio voters not to elect her.
Acton has described a traumatic and unstable childhood. According to police and court records obtained by the , Arthur lost custody of her children after her husband, Acton’s stepfather, Cledith Arthur, was arrested and charged with raping Acton when she was 12. He pleaded not guilty, and the case did not go to trial after he left the area while free on bond.
Asked what she thought of Ramaswamy’s ad, Hinson said she viewed the controversy through the lens of being a parent. Hinson said her political differences with Acton did not change her view. Vance praised Ramaswamy on Wednesday for having “the audacity to run a TV commercial which calls it out like it is and calls Amy Acton a liar.” Vance later told reporters that whether the ad itself was appropriate was “not really my concern.” “What is my concern is who’s going to govern the next generation of American government?” he said.
Vance also criticized members of his own party who criticized the ad. It was that position Karl raised with Hinson before she called it “ridiculous” and “absolutely the wrong tone.” Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, one of Trump’s most persistent Republican critics, also weighed in when the controversy came up later in the show’s roundtable. He continued: “And you then take the two, probably two of the most prominent Trump wannabes in our party, J.D.
Vance and Vivek Ramaswamy, and what they’re showing America is, we want to be just as morally bankrupt as Trump, but we don’t have any of the charm or charisma that people might like.” Christie argued that the consequences of the controversy could extend beyond November’s Ohio governor’s race. Christie said the controversy offered “a cautionary tale for the future of our party.” “If Ramaswamy wins in Ohio, we’re going to see the exact same stuff in 2028,” Christie said. At the Iowa rally, Trump said Ramaswamy had asked him what to do amid criticism of the ad and recalled advising him to keep it up.
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