1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

To Governor Mike DeWine and Members of the Ohio General Assembly: I am asking you to publicly denounce Vivek Ramaswamy and withdraw your endorsements of his campaign for Governor following the disgusting ad targeting Dr. Amy Acton. Through my work with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, I’ve seen how much courage it takes for someone to begin healing and reclaim their life. I know how hard it can be for survivors to speak up, and how damaging it can be when their experiences are used against them. These aren’t just political talking points. These are real people, real trauma, and real lives. Ramaswamy has taken responsibility for this ad and has announced plans to spend another $4 million to keep airing it. That is a choice. He is choosing to continue using something deeply personal and painful as a political weapon, even knowing the harm it can cause. As a society, we should be doing everything we can to support survivors of sexual assault, not subjecting them to vile attacks for political gain. Survivors deserve dignity, compassion, and the chance to tell their stories without fear of being mocked, shamed, or used against someone else. There are real people who will be hurt by these ads, and their pain should matter more than any political campaign. I don’t expect elected officials to agree on every issue, but I do expect them to recognize when a line has been crossed. Party loyalty should never come before basic human decency. If we cannot agree that survivors deserve better than this, then we need to take a hard look at what our values really are. I urge you to speak out against this ad and withdraw your endorsements of Vivek Ramaswamy. Staying silent while he continues to spend millions pushing this message is not good enough. Sexual assault survivors deserve dignity, not vile attacks. Ohio’s leaders need to make it clear that this kind of behavior is unacceptable.