Vice President JD Vance faced a wave of backlash Friday after making a personal joke about an Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate during a campaign rally in his home state.
Speaking in Lima, Ohio, at an event supporting Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy, Vance called Democrat Amy Acton, the former Ohio health director, “a crazy person” before taking a more personal shot.
“Now, I did promise Amy that I would meet her at a bar later,” Vance told the crowd. “I understand that she’s into that sort of thing. So I’m gonna try to get to know her a little bit better.”
Vance’s comments appeared to reference Republican attacks on Acton over a 2019 domestic incident involving her family.
As The New Republic reported Friday, Ohio Republicans have seized on a 911 call from Acton’s daughter, who told dispatchers her mother had been drinking and throwing things during an argument at home. Ramaswamy and groups backing him have spent millions on ads painting Acton as an alcoholic, which she flatly denies. Her campaign has said she had one glass of wine that night and that the prescription involved was a migraine medication.
The New Republic called Vance’s remark “a crude and unfunny joke.”
“This is yet another shot in a cheap GOP smear campaign to convince Ohio voters that Acton is some raging alcoholic and drug addict,” the outlet wrote.
The joke also drew sharp reactions online.
“Cover your drink, Amy!” Michigan political commentator Bruce Crossing posted.
“What a lowlife,” political scientist Norman Ornstein, a contributing editor at The Atlantic, wrote on X.
“What in the Cornell hell is this creep talking about?” wrote Hemant Mehta, a podcaster and writer.
“This stand-up guy sucks,” filmmaker Cam Miller told his social media followers.
Vance has been crisscrossing the country for GOP candidates ahead of the midterms, and his rallies have drawn hecklers. The Ohio governor’s race is one of the most bitter in the nation, with polling showing it tight. Acton said this week she won’t debate Ramaswamy, calling him a “chronic liar” who has “attacked my family.” Last month, an armed man lunged at Acton at a campaign event near Youngstown, injuring several people before he was arrested.
What a lowlife
— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) October 9, 2026