Vivek Ramaswamy's ad featuring Amy Acton's mother stops airing in Ohio

Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's ad featuring his opponent's estranged mother is no longer airing in the state.

“It ran to completion, and we've put up four other ads,” Ramaswamy said at an Oct. 29 campaign stop.

In the ad, Democrat Amy Acton's estranged mother, Donna Arthur, accused Acton of lying about her political opponent and her past. Acton has not spoken to her mother since 1978, when her stepfather was accused of sexually abusing a young Acton. Arthur lost custody of her children.

Ramaswamy received backlash for the ad, with GOP Gov. Mike DeWine, among others, calling for him to take it down. But Ramaswamy's campaign put $4 million into the ad anyway, and President Donald Trump defended the decision as recently as an Oct. 28 rally in Chillicothe, Ohio.

“Vivek was treated very unfairly. He had the mother of his opponent say that her daughter was a liar," Trump told thousands of supporters. "And the press, the fake news, criticized him."

Ramaswamy didn't mention the ad during his remarks in Chillicothe, instead focusing on slashing property taxes and banning sanctuary cities.

Acton's spokesperson Addie Bullock said Ramaswamy should never have run "his despicable ad in the first place."

"It’s totally unsurprising that he took it off the air in the most cowardly way possible, without even the hint of an apology to Dr. Acton, her family or to the people of Ohio,” Bullock said.