Article By David Lindfield
Ohio Democrat gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton’s mother has accused her daughter of lying about her childhood in an explosive political advertisement, urging voters not to elect her just two weeks before the election.
Donna Arthur directly disputed Acton’s account of previously being homeless and living in a tent as a child.
It’s a story the former Ohio health director has cited while explaining her decision to become a doctor.
In the video posted on X, Arthur says:
“I love my daughter, but when I saw her lying about her opponent, and it’s not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy has a serious problem. She is a liar.
“She lies about her past.
“She says she grew up living in a tent.
“None of that is true.
“She’s lied her entire life,” Arthur added.
Acton is running against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy for Ohio’s governorship.
Her campaign had not responded to the bombshell allegations at the time of this report.
Mother Urges Voters To Reject Acton
In the video, Arthur, who introduced herself as someone who had worked with the Children and Family Service Association, questions her daughter’s fitness for office.
“My daughter needs help, and she can’t help you if she needs help herself,” Arthur said.
“People can change, but first they have to tell the truth, and my daughter still isn’t doing that.”
Arthur also warned voters against trusting Acton’s campaign promises.
“If you think she’ll make your life better, you’re fooling yourself,” she said.
“It will only get worse.”
Arthur ended with an explicit appeal against her daughter’s candidacy.
“Don’t vote for people who lie, don’t let her become your governor,” Arthur said.
WATCH:
BOMBSHELL: Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton’s own mother urges voters not to vote for her daughter. “My name is Donna Arthur and I’m Amy Acton’s mother. I worked at Children and Family Service Association, building one of the first two sexual abuse programs in America. I love my daughter, but when I saw her lying about her opponent—and it’s not easy for a mother to say this—but Amy has a serious problem. She is a liar. She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true. She’s lied her entire life. My daughter needs help, and she can’t help you if she needs help herself. People can change, but first they have to tell the truth, and my daughter still isn’t doing that. Don’t vote for people who lie. Don’t let her become your governor. If you think she’ll make your life better, you’re fooling yourself. It will only get worse.” That’s one hell of an October surprise.
— Walter Curt (@wcdispatch) October 20, 2026
Acton Cited Childhood Hardship In Recent Interview
Acton’s claim of being homeless as a child has been a central story in her campaign for Ohio governor.
She argues that claimed experience inspired her to run for governor because she does not “want anyone to struggle as I did.”
WATCH:
This has been Acton’s backstory for several years.
In 20219, WKYC-TV reported that “Acton spoke of years of abuse, neglect, and even a period of homelessness while living with her mother after her parents divorced.”
Acton also repeated the story in a Cleveland 19 News interview published Monday.
“I am from Youngstown.
“I had a pretty rough childhood, and experienced what it was like to live in a tent, to experience abuse and neglect, to not have the heat on, not have a home,” Acton said.
“So, that all motivated me to become a doctor,” Acton added.
Acton said she began her medical career in pediatrics before moving toward preventive medicine because she believed she was encountering patients’ problems too late.
“It drove me into this specialty called preventative medicine, which means treating a whole community, a whole state, the whole country as your patient,” Acton said.
She also pointed to her experience working across administrations, saying she trained in preventive medicine while former Gov. Bob Taft (R-OH) was in office and later worked with five governors from both parties.
Acton led the Ohio Department of Health from 2019 to 2020, becoming a prominent public figure during the early COVID-19 response.
Now, as she asks Ohio voters to put her in the governor’s office, her own mother is publicly challenging a central part of the biography she has presented on the campaign trail.
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