Vivek Ramaswamy has pulled a campaign ad after discovering that the husband of an Ohio woman featured in the commercial is a registered sex offender.
The commercial centers on Vernon Edwards’ wife, Patricia ‘Patty’ Edwards, who immediately begins to cry in his arms and hyperventilate when she meets Ramaswamy, complaining about the real estate tax.
Ramaswamy reassures her that if she can hold on for another nine months, things will get better, as she laments that high property tax bills could force her family out of their home and off their farm.
But her husband, who appears several times in the background of the footage, is creating an unexpected headache for Ramaswamy’s gubernatorial campaign.
During that meeting, Ramaswamy shook hands with Vernon Edwards and complimented his patriotic shirt before Patty Edwards approached the candidate to discuss her concerns about property taxes.
‘Love that shirt! Nice patriotic shirt; I like that,’ Ramaswamy says as he shakes Edwards’ hand.
Court records show Vernon Edwards pleaded guilty in October 2006 to two counts of gross sexual imposition involving his niece under the age of 13.
He was sentenced to eight years in prison and is listed on Ohio’s sex offender registry.
Ramaswamy pulled the plug on a commercial featuring Vernon Edwards (far left), a convicted sex offender
Court records show Vernon Edwards pleaded guilty in October 2006 to two counts of gross sexual imposition involving his niece under the age of 13
The campaign has since removed the video, saying they were unaware of Edwards’ criminal record, saying the commercial was about rising property taxes
According to the court records, allegations involving other relatives were not pursued because the statute of limitations had expired.
The footage used in the advertisement comes from an encounter between Ramaswamy and the couple at the Lorain County Fair in September.
Six weeks later, the campaign featured her in a television commercial, where she spoke directly to the camera about the possibility of losing her family home.
When asked about her husband’s criminal history, campaign spokesman Evan Machan said the team had been unaware of Edwards’ criminal history and was changing the advertisement to remove him.
‘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,’ Machan told The Bulwark.
‘We had no knowledge of the circumstances now being reported.’
He added that the man had been removed from the advertisement, while reiterating Ramaswamy’s pledge to tackle rising property taxes.
The campaign has since removed the social media video.
Ohio Republican State Representative Ty Mathews, who had shared the clip, also removed the post.
The Daily Mail reached out to the Ramaswamy campaign for comment.
The episode raises questions about the campaign’s vetting process, given that court documents and Ohio’s sex offender registry contained information about Edwards’ criminal history.
Patty Edwards defended her involvement in the advertisement, telling The Bulwark that the campaign had approached her about sharing her experience with property taxes.
She insisted the commercial was about her own circumstances and had nothing to do with her husband.
Edwards also disputed the allegations against her husband, claiming prosecutors had withheld evidence she believed was exculpatory.
She added that he had served his sentence.
RealClearPolling’s latest average shows Democrat Amy Acton leading Ramaswamy by four percentage points in Ohio’s gubernatorial race, with Acton at 48.1 percent to Ramaswamy’s 44.1 percent.
The average includes polls conducted between September 18 and October 6.
