Acton, Brown rally in Liberty days before the election
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LIBERTY - Amy Acton and Sherrod Brown, the Democratic gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidates, respectively, rallied supporters at the former's alma mater, Liberty High School, as they run to win two hotly contested races.
Acton is facing Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in one of the most bitter campaigns in the nation while Brown, a former three-term senator who lost his seat in 2024, is challenging Republican Jon Husted, appointed to an open seat in January 2025, in a race that could decide which party has control over the Senate.
A controversial ad by the Ramaswamy campaign that has Acton's estranged mother, who she hasn't spoken to in 48 years, calling her a liar has garnered national attention.
In a Tuesday interview before the rally at Liberty High School, Acton said the ad is "despicable" and it's "not surprising to me for my opponent that there's no low he won't stoop to." Acton called it "bullying behavior."
Acton said of Ramaswamy's ad: "This was exploitive to do to someone in her condition," referring to her mother.
Acton said her "earliest memories" of her mother was life "being very chaotic and it's still clear to me in the ad, she is still not well." Acton grew up in Youngstown and moved around the Mahoning Valley several times before living with her father and graduating from Liberty in 1984.
Acton's mother, Donna Stearns Arthur, last spoke to her daughter shortly before September 1978, when the candidate was 12 years old. Acton's stepfather, Cledith Arthur, was indicted by a Mahoning County grand jury on a felony charge of rape for allegedly sexually abusing Acton for more than two years.
Rather than face the charge, Cledith Arthur, with Acton's mother, fled Ohio and was considered a fugitive until his death in 2004. Warrants for his arrest were issued a number of times. He never faced prosecution.
In the initial commercial, Stearns Arthur said: "It's not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy has a serious problem. 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. 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."
When court documents showed Cledith Arthur living in a tent at the time that Acton said it occurred, Ramaswamy's campaign edited out that part of the ad.
Stearns Arthur has a number of criminal convictions.
Without giving specifics, Acton said since the ad started airing a week ago, "I'm still learning things even about my childhood right now that I did not know."
Acton said she and her brother, Philip Stearns, someday "will unpack some of the things that we're learning."
After getting significant blowback, including from fellow Republicans, Ramaswamy cut the commercial's run time from 60 seconds to 30 seconds, but has defended the ad. Ramaswamy said Acton spread "some defamatory, disparaging lies about me and my family that does deserve to be scrutinized, and this is part of a broader pattern that I think bears mention in this race." That pattern, Ramaswamy said, is that people who know Acton best say you shouldn't vote for her.
Acton said she is "grateful to Ohioans and everyone really so much (for the) support and love we've received. I'm a Youngstown, Ohio, girl through and through. It's a deep part of who I am. Our joke now is they keep mistaking kindness for weakness. But I'm a scrappy kid from Youngstown and growing up here, it made me who I am."
Since the commercial controversy, Acton said, "Many, many people are coming up to me, not just expressing regret to see this happening because I don't think any of us love bullying behavior. We don't like to watch people in these sorts of actions, but many are coming up" with their own stories of abuse.
Brown said Husted is the candidate for major corporations and out-of-state billionaires.
Brown said: "Jon Husted is for sale. He'll put them before working families every single time."
Brown said: "Pedophiles, big corporations, billionaires - what do they have in common? They own Jon Husted. Jon Husted works for them. Ohioans don't have anyone working for them - until November."
Brown said Husted voted 14 times in favor of the war in Iran that has raised the cost of gas, diesel fuel and groceries.
Brown criticized Husted at the rally as the "face of data centers" as he played a central role in giving tax breaks to bring 226 data centers to Ohio, which has raised utility costs.
Brown said Husted "led the charge" on the data centers "in our communities. He gave those corporations - as if they needed it - $2.5 billion of our tax money.
Tuesday's event at Liberty High School, with about 500 people in attendance, was the latest stop for the Democratic candidates, who are rallying around the state with the Nov. 3 election now less than a week away.
Acton and Brown started Saturday in Cleveland with former President Barack Obama. From there, they had a Sunday rally in Akron, Monday in Dayton, Tuesday in Liberty and have rallies scheduled in Cincinnati, Toledo, back to Cleveland and Columbus.
Meanwhile, the Republican ticket started a bus tour Friday around the state. The GOP candidates will campaign Sunday in the Mahoning Valley, including a rally at Waypoint 4180 in Canfield. Doors open at 5 p.m. with the event scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m.
Amy Natoce, a Husted campaign spokeswoman, said: "Sherrod Brown spent 50 years in office failing hardworking Ohio families. When he handed out taxpayer-funded benefits to millions of illegal immigrants and supported Green New Deal policies that drove up energy prices, Jon Husted was creating jobs and lowering taxes at home. Ohio fired Sherrod Brown once already and they'll retire him for good on Nov. 3."