Acton's estranged mother calls her a 'liar'; Democrat calls Ramaswamy 'despicable'

What BBN said about it

1. 

   Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorOhio's race for governor got personal this morning: Democrat Amy Acton's own mother appears in a new ad calling her a liar.

2. 

   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentOkay, so I'm just waking up. Whose ad is it?

3. 

   Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorGood question. The Hill says it's unclear who is backing or paying for it. Acton's campaign blames Ramaswamy's campaign.

4. 

   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo the most talked-about ad in Ohio has no credited creator.

5. 

   Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorIt runs about sixty seconds. A woman who identifies herself as Donna Arthur, Acton's mother, says her daughter is lying.

6. 

   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentLying about what?

7. 

   Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorMediaite says the woman in the ad claims Acton said she grew up living in a tent, and that none of it is true.

8. 

   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentA tent. Mediaite also says it cuts between colour footage of the mom and black-and-white of Acton. I know that edit. That's a thumbnail.

9. 

   Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorNow, how did we get here? Acton is the Democratic nominee and Ohio's former health director.

10. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorHeritage Headlines says she has talked about her childhood publicly for years, so the story itself is old. What's new is who's bringing it up.

11. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentWho does this hit?

12. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorOhio voters, mostly. It's a battleground, and Election Day is a few weeks away. CNN's Harry Enten says Acton now leads by four points.

13. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo an ad lands in the final stretch, and the lead is four points. That's a tight window.

14. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorHer brother, Philip Stearns, put out a statement through her campaign. He called the video a despicable low and condemned Ramaswamy.

15. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentAnd Ramaswamy's side?

16. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorNothing publicly as of this morning. Newsweek reached out to both campaigns for comment.

17. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSilence. The old no-reply strategy.

18. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorLook, both sides will say it's about honesty.

19. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorActon's campaign blames Ramaswamy's campaign for it, and the ad's message is that she stretched the truth.

20. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentWait, so what do we watch?

21. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorWhether anyone claims the ad, whether the Ramaswamy campaign responds, and whether that four-point lead moves.

22. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo the one-sentence version: a mom, a tent, and an ad nobody will sign.

23. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorClose. A sixty-second ad, one tent, and the only person on record is the brother. Kenji, what do you have for us?

24. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentHopefully a crime with a named suspect, Rosa.