Vance tells Republicans to 'stop whining' about controversial Ohio attack ad

US Vice-President JD Vance has urged fellow Republicans to stop "whining" about a controversial attack ad that featured a Democratic candidate's estranged mother calling her a liar.

While campaigning in Ohio for Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican candidate for governor, Vance said he was "a little bit disgusted" by criticism from members of his own party.

In the name, Donna Arthur, the mother of Democratic candidate Amy Acton, said her daughter "lied her entire life". It does not mention that Arthur's husband was charged with raping Acton when she was a child.

The Ramaswamy campaign has claimed credit for the ad, and has paid millions to have it advertised around the state.

Acton's brother is among those who have condemned the name, saying turning alleged sexual assault into "a political talking point" was a "despicable low".

Acton and her brother were removed from their mother's custody when her stepfather, Cledith Arthur, was arrested and charged in 1978.

That is when she last spoke to her mother, Acton said in an interview with The Vindicator, an Ohio news outlet. The Arthurs fled Ohio and Cledith Arthur was never prosecuted on the rape charge. He died in 2004.

Source: BBC News World RSS (Open Press / Translated Full Text)