COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Vice President JD Vance said during a campaign visit to Ohio on Wednesday that he is “disgusted” by the Republican pushback against an ad by Vivek Ramaswamy that features the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent in the governor's race, Dr. Amy Acton, and raises questions about her traumatic childhood.
“Politics is a tough business,” Vance said to reporters.
In Cincinnati, the vice president said it was “not really my concern” whether the controversial 60-second spot was appropriate, and said he was focused on supporting Republican candidates in their midterm races.
“I’m a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America,” Vance said in his first public comments on the ad, which has roiled one of the most contentious and expensive governor's races in the country.
The advertisement features Acton’s birth mother, Donna Arthur, calling her “a liar” and insinuating she has mental health issues. Arthur lost custody of her children after their stepfather was indicted for raping Acton.
The video was criticized by both Democrats and Republicans when it exploded into public view Tuesday, just two weeks before Election Day. On Wednesday, one of the candidates Vance was supporting at the rally offered a different view.
“I would not have run that ad,” Republican Sen. Jon Husted said in a statement to The Associated Press. He did not raise the issue during his joint appearance at the rally with Vance and Ramaswamy. Husted is in a tough fight with former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who on Tuesday called the spot “disgusting.”
Nikki Haley, who sparred with Ramaswamy during the 2024 Republican presidential primary over the personal nature of his attacks, called him "a bad guy” in a social media post Tuesday. “It’s a shame he continues to get away with it,” she wrote.
Ramaswamy, a billionaire tech entrepreneur, claimed credit for the ad and said he will spend $4 million to promote it despite the backlash from some members of his own party. He didn't address it in remarks before Vance spoke at a rally outside Cincinnati.
Acton, Ohio’s former health director, has made no secret of facing homelessness and abuse as a child.
Police and court records show Cledith Arthur was arrested and charged with the rape of his stepdaughter, then 12, in July 1978, after Acton’s biological father reported him to authorities. The abuse allegedly happened from December 1976 to April 1978. Cledith Arthur, who has since died, failed to show for a court appearance and became a fugitive.
Acton said she has not seen her mother since she appeared in a courtroom in the late 1970s. Her campaign on Tuesday posted a video of her brother who supported her backstory about living in a tent and being abused.
In his remarks to reporters ahead of the rally, Vance said Acton, “lies about every single one of her positions.”
Acton's campaign declined to respond to Vance's comments, saying that her painful backstory was not the centerpiece of her run for governor.
Michael Wedding, 20, came to Vance's rally Wednesday — but not to support Ohio's Republican ticket. He said he would be parting with his large Republican family and vote for Acton for governor, adding that he attended the rally in large part to see Ramaswamy in person.
He said he had seen the ad and found it “very, very gross.”
“She was sexually abused as a child," he said of Acton, "and I thought it was kind of scummy that they would use that in an advertisement. I don’t think it’s right to use her sexual abuse as a kid, or give any sort of platform to that.”
Binkley reported from Washington. Associated Press video journalist Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos contributed to this story from Sharonville, Ohio.
From left, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, and gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy attend a campaign rally at the Sharonville Convention Center, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Sharonville, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
President Donald Trump listens a gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at a campaign rally at the Covelli Centre, in Youngstown, Ohio, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Vice President JD Vance speaks during a campaign rally at the Sharonville Convention Center, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Sharonville, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s attorney general filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Jeffrey Epstein’s attorney and accountant, accusing them of concealing his sex trafficking operation at a sprawling Santa Fe-area ranch where the disgraced financier entertained guests.
The lawsuit seeks to stop attorney Darren Indyke and accountant Richard Kahn from accepting any payments from Epstein's estate, estimated at more than $100 million. They serve as coexecutors, and New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said they “stand to benefit substantially” from the estate unless a federal judge intervenes.
Indyke worked as Epstein’s attorney for roughly two decades. Both he and Kahn have testified in Congress that they did not know about Epstein’s abuse, though Torrez has a different view.
“None of this could be done by just one man,” Torrez said at a news conference, where he stood with two of Epstein's accusers. “This was something that was facilitated, that was made possible by handlers, by lawyers, by accountants, by others who have yet to face real consequences.”
In response to the lawsuit, an attorney for the pair said they “emphatically reject” the allegations and note that New Mexico officials never sought to interview Indyke and Kahn before going to court. Dan Weiner said they would have cooperated.
“Not a single woman has ever accused Mr. Indyke or Mr. Kahn of committing sexual abuse or witnessing sexual abuse, nor claimed at any time that she or anyone else reported to them any allegation of Mr. Epstein’s abuse,” Weiner said in an email.
The U.S. Justice Department declined to comment on any federal investigation of Indyke or Kahn.
Earlier this year, Indyke and Kahn agreed as executors of the estate to settle a class-action lawsuit brought against them by Epstein accusers for up to $35 million. They did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the deal.
Torrez’s lawsuit is an effort to possibly recover more money for victims, with New Mexico acting as the plaintiff.
Epstein purchased the Zorro Ranch in Stanley, a sparsely populated ranching community about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Santa Fe, in 1993. He built a 26,700-square-foot mansion with a sprawling courtyard, a living room roughly the size of the average American home, and a private airstrip and helipad.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org
Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
His former girlfriend and close associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after her 2021 conviction on sex trafficking charges in New York. Witness testimony at Maxwell’s trial alleged she and Epstein had sexually abused women at the ranch.
“We cannot undo what happened or return what was taken from us, but we can demand answers,” said Epstein accuser Anouska De Georgiou. “We can pursue justice and we can insist that wealth, power and influence never place anyone beyond accountability.”
The Associated Press does not name people who say they were sexually abused unless they have come forward publicly.
The lawsuit accuses Indyke and Kahn of conspiracy and racketeering in supporting the “Epstein Enterprise.”
“They arranged payments to survivors to purchase their silence and leave them indebted to Epstein, handled costs for expenses connected to the abuse, monitored survivors’ spending, and prepared tax returns for some survivors,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit notes a 2017 email from Kahn to Epstein regarding payment of “the latest batch of medical expenses for girls.”
“At the end of the day this is not about the past. It is about the truth. It’s about justice, and it’s about making sure that accountability does not end with Epstein,” said Julia Molchanova, another Epstein victim.
Epstein never faced charges in New Mexico, though the state attorney general's office in 2019 confirmed that it was investigating and planned to forward its findings to federal authorities in New York. Hector Balderas, who was attorney general at the time, said the state’s outdated laws failed to protect children from abuse.
Torrez reopened the state’s investigation this year. In August, he sued the Justice Department, accusing it of blocking the state from investigating alleged sex crimes. The government said it was not releasing some information to the state to avoid disclosing victim-identifying information.
Also in August, a commission established by state lawmakers to investigate whether local authorities looked the other way, released a 119-page report that said authorities repeatedly deferred to investigations in New York, Palm Beach, Florida, and the Virgin Islands, while leaving Epstein’s offenses in New Mexico unexamined and unpunished.
Epstein’s estate sold the ranch in 2023 to the family of Don Huffines, a Republican who is the Texas state comptroller. The money was set aside for creditors.
Probate proceedings related to Epstein’s will and assets are being handled in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
White contributed from Detroit.
Julia Molchanova, left, Anouska De Georgiou, center, and New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez speak at a news conference where Torrez announced a lawsuit against the co-executors of Jeffrey Epstein's estate, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Albuquerque, N.M. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)
FILE — This photo provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry shows Jeffrey Epstein on March 28, 2017. (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, File)
FILE - Crosses, flowers and other mementos are displayed outside Jeffrey Epstein's former Zorro Ranch near Stanley, N.M., on April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Savannah Peters, File)
