Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign is reworking a new TV ad after revelations that a man shown in the spot is a registered sex offender.
The ad focuses on property taxes and features Patricia “Patty” Edwards of Amherst, a Cleveland suburb, who talks about her fear of losing her family farm. The Bulwark reported that her husband, Vernon Edwards, who appears in background footage, pleaded guilty in October 2006 to two counts of gross sexual imposition involving a girl under 13 and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
He is listed on the Lorain County sex offender registry.
The footage came from a September encounter at the Lorain County Fair. Ramaswamy posted a social media video of the meeting, in which Vernon Edwards shook the candidate’s hand, and Ramaswamy complimented his patriotic shirt.
Patty Edwards then introduced herself and grew emotional talking about property taxes. About six weeks later, the campaign released the TV spot.
Campaign spokesperson Evan Machan said the campaign didn’t know about Vernon Edwards’s record.
“This ad was based on a real interaction between Vivek and an Ohio woman who was distraught at a county fair because she may have to move out of her home due to rising property taxes. We had no knowledge of the circumstances now being reported,” Machan said. “The man has been removed from the ad.”
He added: “The fact of the matter is that property taxes are insanely high and causing many Ohioans to consider moving out of their homes. Vivek is the leader who will fix it.”
After commenting, the campaign also deleted the fair video from social media, according to The Bulwark. At least one Republican state representative who had shared it took it down as well.
The Bulwark noted that basic vetting could have caught the problem. Court records list a Vernon Edwards at the same Amherst address as Patty, and his sex offender registry photo appears to show him wearing the same patriotic shirt Ramaswamy praised at the fair.
Patty Edwards told The Bulwark the ad was about her, not her husband. She called the accusations against him “false” and said prosecutors had withheld evidence.
“Even if that were true, the man did do his time back to society, and he has been an exemplary citizen at this point,” she said. “I am not accused of anything. I am an American citizen. I’m allowed to do this.”
Ramaswamy is running on his image as a competent business leader, the outlet noted.