When Political Desperation Backfires: A Lesson from Ohio

Late Tuesday, the Ramaswamy campaign acknowledged paying for the video to be produced. While calling it an “ad,” the video had not yet appeared as part of a paid advertisement.

When Desperation Replaces Political Strategy

When campaigns, candidates, and their supporters get desperate, the Hail Mary pass becomes the default play to call. The logic is simply that at a given particular point in time, there is nothing to lose by turning Momma’s picture to the wall and going all in with longshot choices.

50-plus years of experience on the political playing field has led me to conclude that sort of thinking is but another reason our profession is so little respected. Hope may spring eternal, but it rarely is sound political strategy. It never is a good idea to say or do something where the overwhelming reaction is: What the hell were they thinking? Such is the case in the Ohio governor’s race.

The Video That Sparked a Political Firestorm

This week, a video was released in the Ohio campaign for Governor that further proves that stupidity is not in short supply, at least as we know the facts now. Donna Arthur, the mother of Amy Acton (Democratic nominee for Governor) appears in a video calling her daughter a liar, urging Ohioans to not vote for Acton.

The video, which at the time of this writing is not being used in paid advertising, does not require a disclaimer—the accounting for who authorized and paid for the message to be created and placed. When you lower the boom in a fashion such as this, Stevie Wonder could see the need to be ready to account for how this all came to pass. Whose idea was this? How was the mother convinced to do the video? Will it become part of paid communications? If so, who is paying?

A Family Member’s Response Changes the Conversation

Were that this lack of ownership and readiness for the predictable were the dumbest aspects of the video becoming part of the campaign. Apparently, nobody thought that in a “she said-she said” argument, the rule of thumb is that a credible third party breaks the tie. Guess what? Amy Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, has come forward with a statement the Acton campaign released almost instantly. What did he have to say?

“It is 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,” said Philip Stearns, Dr. Acton’s brother. “After he was arrested and Amy and I removed from their custody, our birth mother stayed married to Amy’s rapist until he died. This desperate, disgusting attack reveals 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.” Ouch.

A Political Trap of Their Own Making?

It says here that the Acton campaign was fully prepared to address this topic, the minute it became a public issue. It is almost as though they baited a trap, and the Ramaswamy forces did not just fall into it. They jumped into it, obviously not ready to cope with any sort of pushback from someone who would be treated as credible, unless the campaign could discredit that person.

My recently deceased Mother was fond of saying there was no law against being stupid, which was fortunate for many people (often including me) who otherwise would be in jail. Lacking any further bombshells, one would have to say this Arthur video (call it the Mom Video) is political stupidity at its worst.

There is only one way for the Ramaswamy forces to regain the upper hand in this discussion. That would be if there was a ton of easily verified information that would lead most sane people to conclude the brother (Philip Stearns) is not one of the good guys. Otherwise, it seems to be fair to say the Ramaswamy world has hung itself with its own rope.

The Opportunity to Take the High Road

If it turns out the Ramaswamy world had no idea the video was forthcoming, they have only revealed another proof point of their incompetence. If it is all a surprise to them, it actually created the opening to do something smart. They should have disavowed any knowledge as soon as the Stearns statement went public. Further, they could have taken the high road and stated they had no interest in becoming involved in a family matter, knowing voters would make up their minds on other issues, etc. So far, to the best of my knowledge, that has not happened.

A Cautionary Tale for Republicans in 2026

2026 is shaping up to be a pretty difficult year for Republicans. We do ourselves no favors when we shoot ourselves in the foot. The race for Governor in Ohio is becoming a textbook example of how not to conduct a campaign. That is most unfortunate.