The most controversial ad of Ohio’s governor race is off the air. Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign has pulled its attack ad featuring Donna Arthur, the estranged mother of Democratic opponent Dr. Amy Acton, an Acton campaign spokesperson confirmed, saying the move came “after widespread pushback.”

The spot featured Arthur calling her daughter a lifelong liar — despite the two not having seen each other in nearly 50 years, and Arthur having lost custody of her children in 1978.

The ad drew backlash in Ohio and among politicians of both parties nationally, with past and present Ohio governors, alumni of Ramaswamy’s Cincinnati Catholic high school, and others urging him to pull it. An earlier ToledoBuzz poll piece noted the ad had not won over voters.

On the money side: Ramaswamy’s campaign originally said it would spend $4 million airing the spot, but AdImpact data showed roughly $1 million was actually spent — about a quarter of the planned run. Ramaswamy said at a campaign appearance in Vandalia on Thursday that the ad’s planned run was over.

He had defended the ad, airing a trimmed version, and had backing at the top of the ticket: President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance supported keeping it on air, with Trump saying he told Ramaswamy to “leave it on the air” and calling Arthur “fair game.”

Acton’s campaign called the ad “despicable,” said it should never have run, and said Ramaswamy should have apologized.

Source: Associated Press via 13abc.

Photo: General Ization / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0) — the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus (file photo)