Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) has condemned a political advertisement run by Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, calling it the most disgraceful ad of the current election season.
Mace made her comments to CNN’s Jake Tapper, leaving little doubt about her feelings toward a fellow Republican’s campaign strategy during a critical election period.
“This ad is going to go down as the most shameful, disgusting, offensive ad this election season,” Mace told Tapper, pulling no punches in her public rebuke of a candidate she once supported.
She added: “The bar is low and somehow Vivek Ramaswamy somehow managed to limbo under the lowest bar of decency in this country,” making clear the depth of her disapproval.
The ad in question features Amy Acton’s estranged mother, who called her own daughter a “liar” and said, “My daughter needs help,” drawing swift backlash from both Democrats and Republicans alike.
Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted was among those who joined Democrats in criticizing the ad, reflecting a rare moment of bipartisan condemnation directed at a Republican gubernatorial candidate.
Acton’s campaign pushed back forcefully, with her brother revealing that Acton had been sexually abused by their stepfather at a young age and that their mother remained with him until his death, with Acton herself removed from her mother’s custody at age 12.
Mace, who has previously spoken publicly about her own experience as a survivor of sexual assault, told Tapper the ad crossed a deeply personal line for her despite her prior support of Ramaswamy.
“I am beside myself. I was a real big Vivek Ramaswamy fan,” Mace said, adding, “But this was just deeply offensive, and I just can’t believe that this is what passes for decency in this election. I’m stunned.”
Mace also raised broader electoral concerns, warning that the ad could damage Republican candidates across the entire Ohio ballot at a time when the party is already facing difficulties with women voters.
“When the Republican Party is bleeding women voters, when we are struggling with women voters, this is the ad that you’re going to run in a midterm election?” Mace said, framing the controversy as a significant strategic miscalculation.
Vice President JD Vance took the opposite view, traveling to Ohio to defend Ramaswamy and expressing his own frustration with Republicans who criticized the advertisement.
Vance said he was “disgusted” by the internal pushback and urged fellow Republicans to “stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race,” drawing a sharp contrast with Mace’s position.
Mace suggested that Vance’s decision to publicly defend the ad could carry serious political consequences, saying it might have cost him support among the very voters Republicans need to win.
The episode has exposed a visible fault line inside the Republican Party over campaign tactics, political decency, and how the party chooses to court women voters heading into a competitive election environment.
