Donna Arthur, mother of Democratic Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, has urged voters not to elect her daughter as governor. 

In a video, Ms Arthur campaigned against her daughter, Ms Acton, who is up against Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy in the governorship race.

“I love my daughter. But when I saw her lying about her opponent—it’s not easy for a mother to say this—but Amy has a serious problem,” Ms Arthur said. 

“She is 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.”

Ms Arthur derided her daughter, saying she needs help and cannot be trusted to govern Ohio. 

“My daughter needs help. And she can’t help you if she needs help herself. People can change. But first they have to tell the truth. And my daughter still isn’t doing that. 

“Don’t vote for people who lie. Don’t let her become your governor. If you think she’ll make your life better, you’re fooling yourself. It will only get worse,” Ms Arthur said.

In a statement, the gubernatorial aspirant’s brother, Philip Stearns, described their mother as an “estranged and abusive mother.”

“It’s 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,” Mr Stearns said.

He added, “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. 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.”

The Democratic candidate, a former Ohio Department of Health director, in 2019 granted an interview in which she said the man her mother married raped her. 

Ms Arthur in 2020 had also said her daughter’s claim of homelessness was exaggerated. She said her husband was arrested based on her daughter’s rape allegations.

In 1978, Ms Acton’s stepfather was charged with rape and indicted. But he pleaded not guilty.