{"id":165814,"date":"2026-10-23T07:17:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T15:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/10\/23\/vivek-ramaswamy-spent-4-million-proving-yale-law-school-cant-buy-you-class\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T07:17:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T15:17:00","slug":"vivek-ramaswamy-spent-4-million-proving-yale-law-school-cant-buy-you-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/10\/23\/vivek-ramaswamy-spent-4-million-proving-yale-law-school-cant-buy-you-class\/","title":{"rendered":"Vivek Ramaswamy Spent $4 Million Proving Yale Law School Can\u2019t Buy You Class"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vivek Ramaswamy is a Yale Law grad, a biotech multimillionaire, and the Republican nominee for governor of Ohio. He has now reached a new low in a race where he\u2019d already had plenty of them. His campaign is spending $4 million<\/a> on an ad in which the estranged mother of his opponent, Democrat Dr. Amy Acton, attacks her daughter.<\/p>\n

In the minute-long spot, Donna Arthur says her daughter lies about her childhood and tells Ohioans not to vote for her. \u201cShe lies about her past,\u201d Arthur says. \u201cShe\u2019s lied her entire life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ad leaves out why<\/em> mother and daughter are estranged. Acton has spoken publicly about being abused as a child and about her difficult relationship with her mother. She says they have not spoken since she was 12 when her stepfather was charged with abuse, and Acton testified against him<\/a>. Court records show<\/a> the stepfather was arrested for raping her as a child and that her mother lost custody. In a statement<\/a>, Acton said that \u201cbetween the ages of 10 and 12, I was sexually abused by her husband, while my birth mother did nothing to protect me.\u201d<\/p>\n

So Ramaswamy\u2019s closing argument, two weeks before Election Day, is a woman who lost custody of her kids over sexual abuse calling Acton a liar on statewide television.<\/p>\n

Gross.<\/p>\n

At first Ramaswamy\u2019s campaign wouldn\u2019t confirm it was behind the ad<\/a>. The spot started circulating online without any disclaimer saying who paid for it. Once Ramaswamy owned it, he explained himself<\/a> this way, \u201cI would love for this race and this election to be about the substantive issues that impact Ohioans, and unfortunately, Amy Acton has been hiding from those issues.\u201d His campaign manager, Jonathan Ewing, went further<\/a>, \u201cThis is a campaign-ending moment for Amy Acton. The people who know her best keep warning Ohioans about her.\u201d<\/p>\n

It may well be a campaign-ending moment. Just not for Acton.<\/p>\n

Beyond the morality of running the ad, there are practical concerns because the ad is landing like a turd in a pool. Nearly everyone<\/a> except Ramaswamy and his law school buddy JD Vance can see it\u2019s a political problem. Senator Jon Husted, who is in a toss-up race for reelection, said flatly<\/a>, \u201cI would not have run that ad.\u201d Ohio Governor Mike DeWine endorsed Ramaswamy, and still called the ad<\/a> \u201cdeeply, deeply troubling\u201d and said, \u201cIt\u2019s wrong to run this ad.\u201d (Though he has not withdrawn the endorsement.) Nikki Haley said the ad was more proof that Ramaswamy is \u201ca bad guy.\u201d Then there\u2019s CNN\u2019s Scott Jennings, who has made a career of defending the indefensible on cable news. He drew the line here<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis is not whining. From what I\u2019ve heard from my people in Ohio, it\u2019s warning that this may have actually been a backfire. It\u2019s gonna blow up in their face.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The \u201cwhining\u201d Jennings is rejecting, is a response to Vice President JD Vance \u2014 Ramaswamy\u2019s Yale Law buddy<\/a> \u2014 who told Republicans<\/a> to \u201cstop whining\u201d about the ad. At a Cincinnati rally, he praised Ramaswamy<\/a> for having \u201cthe audacity to run a TV commercial which calls it out like it is and calls Amy Acton a liar.\u201d Then he added, \u201cI think that a person who is more worried about whether somebody says something mean about them, that person \u2014 that person could never serve in the governor\u2019s mansion of the great state of Ohio.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething mean\u201d is certainly one way to describe recruiting a child sexual abuse survivor\u2019s estranged mother for a $4 million ad buy.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump said he knew<\/a> \u201cnothing about it,\u201d and then offered, \u201cit\u2019s a very unusual situation to have a mother hate a daughter that much, but I don\u2019t think that has anything to do with Vivek.\u201d<\/p>\n

It has about $4 million to do with Vivek.<\/p>\n

Sources close to the campaign say the ad tested well<\/a> with \u201cpersuadable\u201d voters. Jennings has a theory about that<\/a>: he thinks it was tested in a focus group and got loose, and, \u201cWhat you can\u2019t test in those settings is the rebuttal, and when people actually find out the story.\u201d Really? The campaign never thought about the pretty obvious rebuttal, backed by public records, that Acton\u2019s biological mother chose to stay with the man accused of sexually molesting her daughter? And never considered how poorly that would play? Stunning, and not in a good way. <\/p>\n

Before the ad debacle Ramaswamy was already behind in polling \u2014 a Marist poll<\/a> from mid-October had Acton ahead 50% to 43% among likely voters. This is what a desperate campaign looks like.<\/p>\n

Ramaswamy left New Haven with a J.D., a lifelong friendship with a future vice president (another JD, if you will), and millions already in the bank. But this week he proved there are some things even Yale Law School can\u2019t get you.<\/p>\n

Earlier:<\/strong> JD Vance\u2019s Surprisingly Non-Weird Law School Habit<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of\u00a0The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of\u00a0Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email\u00a0her<\/a>\u00a0with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Vivek Ramaswamy Spent $4 Million Proving Yale Law School Can\u2019t Buy You Class<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Photo by Michael M. Santiago\/Getty Images)\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vivek Ramaswamy is a Yale Law grad, a biotech multimillionaire, and the Republican nominee for governor of Ohio. He has now reached a new low in a race where he\u2019d already had plenty of them. His campaign is spending $4 million<\/a> on an ad in which the estranged mother of his opponent, Democrat Dr. Amy Acton, attacks her daughter.<\/p>\n

In the minute-long spot, Donna Arthur says her daughter lies about her childhood and tells Ohioans not to vote for her. \u201cShe lies about her past,\u201d Arthur says. \u201cShe\u2019s lied her entire life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ad leaves out why<\/em> mother and daughter are estranged. Acton has spoken publicly about being abused as a child and about her difficult relationship with her mother. She says they have not spoken since she was 12 when her stepfather was charged with abuse, and Acton testified against him<\/a>. Court records show<\/a> the stepfather was arrested for raping her as a child and that her mother lost custody. In a statement<\/a>, Acton said that \u201cbetween the ages of 10 and 12, I was sexually abused by her husband, while my birth mother did nothing to protect me.\u201d<\/p>\n

So Ramaswamy\u2019s closing argument, two weeks before Election Day, is a woman who lost custody of her kids over sexual abuse calling Acton a liar on statewide television.<\/p>\n

Gross.<\/p>\n

At first Ramaswamy\u2019s campaign wouldn\u2019t confirm it was behind the ad<\/a>. The spot started circulating online without any disclaimer saying who paid for it. Once Ramaswamy owned it, he explained himself<\/a> this way, \u201cI would love for this race and this election to be about the substantive issues that impact Ohioans, and unfortunately, Amy Acton has been hiding from those issues.\u201d His campaign manager, Jonathan Ewing, went further<\/a>, \u201cThis is a campaign-ending moment for Amy Acton. The people who know her best keep warning Ohioans about her.\u201d<\/p>\n

It may well be a campaign-ending moment. Just not for Acton.<\/p>\n

Beyond the morality of running the ad, there are practical concerns because the ad is landing like a turd in a pool. Nearly everyone<\/a> except Ramaswamy and his law school buddy JD Vance can see it\u2019s a political problem. Senator Jon Husted, who is in a toss-up race for reelection, said flatly<\/a>, \u201cI would not have run that ad.\u201d Ohio Governor Mike DeWine endorsed Ramaswamy, and still called the ad<\/a> \u201cdeeply, deeply troubling\u201d and said, \u201cIt\u2019s wrong to run this ad.\u201d (Though he has not withdrawn the endorsement.) Nikki Haley said the ad was more proof that Ramaswamy is \u201ca bad guy.\u201d Then there\u2019s CNN\u2019s Scott Jennings, who has made a career of defending the indefensible on cable news. He drew the line here<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis is not whining. From what I\u2019ve heard from my people in Ohio, it\u2019s warning that this may have actually been a backfire. It\u2019s gonna blow up in their face.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The \u201cwhining\u201d Jennings is rejecting, is a response to Vice President JD Vance \u2014 Ramaswamy\u2019s Yale Law buddy<\/a> \u2014 who told Republicans<\/a> to \u201cstop whining\u201d about the ad. At a Cincinnati rally, he praised Ramaswamy<\/a> for having \u201cthe audacity to run a TV commercial which calls it out like it is and calls Amy Acton a liar.\u201d Then he added, \u201cI think that a person who is more worried about whether somebody says something mean about them, that person \u2014 that person could never serve in the governor\u2019s mansion of the great state of Ohio.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething mean\u201d is certainly one way to describe recruiting a child sexual abuse survivor\u2019s estranged mother for a $4 million ad buy.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump said he knew<\/a> \u201cnothing about it,\u201d and then offered, \u201cit\u2019s a very unusual situation to have a mother hate a daughter that much, but I don\u2019t think that has anything to do with Vivek.\u201d<\/p>\n

It has about $4 million to do with Vivek.<\/p>\n

Sources close to the campaign say the ad tested well<\/a> with \u201cpersuadable\u201d voters. Jennings has a theory about that<\/a>: he thinks it was tested in a focus group and got loose, and, \u201cWhat you can\u2019t test in those settings is the rebuttal, and when people actually find out the story.\u201d Really? The campaign never thought about the pretty obvious rebuttal, backed by public records, that Acton\u2019s biological mother chose to stay with the man accused of sexually molesting her daughter? And never considered how poorly that would play? Stunning, and not in a good way. <\/p>\n

Before the ad debacle Ramaswamy was already behind in polling \u2014 a Marist poll<\/a> from mid-October had Acton ahead 50% to 43% among likely voters. This is what a desperate campaign looks like.<\/p>\n

Ramaswamy left New Haven with a J.D., a lifelong friendship with a future vice president (another JD, if you will), and millions already in the bank. But this week he proved there are some things even Yale Law School can\u2019t get you.<\/p>\n

Earlier:<\/strong> JD Vance\u2019s Surprisingly Non-Weird Law School Habit<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of\u00a0The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of\u00a0Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email\u00a0her<\/a>\u00a0with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vivek Ramaswamy is a Yale Law grad, a biotech multimillionaire, and the Republican nominee for governor of Ohio. He has now reached a new low in a race where he\u2019d already had plenty of them. His campaign is spending $4 million on an ad in which the estranged mother of his opponent, Democrat Dr. Amy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":165523,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-165814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}