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An Ohio restaurant is picking up the pieces after hosting Republican Vivek Ramaswamy on the midterms campaign trail — a move that alienated some longtime customers.
Ramaswamy was defeated in Ohio’s gubernatorial race by Democrat Amy Acton, in part, thanks to an attack ad his campaign ran featuring his opponent’s estranged mother, Donna Arthur. Acton was sexually abused as a child by Arthur’s late husband, and the mom sided with him over her own daughter, smearing her as a “liar” in the ad.
The ad received bipartisan backlash as Republicans warned it would come back to bite Ramaswamy come Election Day.
His campaign announced a stop at P.J. Marley’s in the city of Medina on October 31, which the owners, Patty and Jon Stahl - described as small-business Republicans - claimed was arranged before the controversial ad was released, according to The New York Times.
They reportedly believed the attack ad was in bad taste, but hoped Ramaswamy would fulfill his campaign pledge to lower property taxes and tackle rising electric costs.
The couple added that they would have hosted a Democrat in their restaurant too, and the opportunity was not about taking sides.
