Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, later released a statement and a competing video that provided key context the Ramaswamy campaign ad conveniently left out.

Stearns said that he and Acton have been estranged from their mother for years because she stayed married to their stepfather, Cledith Arthur, who sexually abused Acton at a young age. Acton was removed from her mother’s care at the age of 12.

“We haven’t talked to a GOP source who thought this was a good idea,” Jessica Taylor, Cook Political Report’s Senate and governor’s editor, wrote. “This is not the kind of TV ad you run if you’re winning — or even if you’re confident you can. Recent polls were trending in Acton’s direction even before the bombshell ad became a national news story.”

The ad has received bipartisan condemnation, including from the current term-limited Republican governor Mike DeWine. But Donald Trump and JD Vance have stood with Ramaswamy and defended the ad.