Illinois first lady MK Pritzker, who typically shies away from the political spotlight, announced Wednesday that she is contributing $500,000 to support Ohio Democratic governor candidate Amy Acton after the campaign of Acton’s Republican opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, released a controversial video featuring her estranged mother.
The contributions, which have yet to appear on Ohio campaign finance disclosures, will include the maximum contribution of $16,615.67 to Acton’s campaign fund, with the remainder going to the Ohio Democratic Party, said Jordan Abudayyeh, a spokeswoman for MK Pritzker. The midterm election is Nov. 3.
Ramaswamy’s campaign confirmed to The Associated Press late Tuesday that it produced an ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother calling her a liar, and that the Republican campaign planned to spend $4 million to promote it. Acton and her brother were removed from their mother’s custody in 1978 after their stepfather was indicted on charges that he sexually assaulted Acton, the AP reported.
“Bad men gain power when we refuse to stand up and fight,” MK Pritzker said in a statement. “Vivek Ramaswamy represents everything that is wrong with our politics today: arrogance, cruelty, dishonesty, and the belief that it’s acceptable to say and do anything for power. I refuse to sit quietly while men like Vivek Ramaswamy exploit a highly qualified woman’s pain for political gain. There comes a time when simply condemning someone’s actions isn’t enough — we have to put it all on the line to defeat these MAGA men.”
MK Pritzker was not available for an interview Wednesday, Abudayyeh said.
Gov. JB Pritzker, a billionaire Hyatt Hotels heir, has spent roughly $500 million on political contributions since the 1990s, about $440 million to his three campaigns for governor, but his wife has been more selective in her individual political giving, state and federal campaign records show.
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The governor denounced the ad from Ramaswamy, a biotech billionaire and former GOP presidential primary candidate, in a social media post on Tuesday.
“Dr. Amy Acton has overcome immense challenges to serve the state she loves,” Pritzker wrote of his party’s Ohio nominee, who was the state’s public health director. “Vivek Ramaswamy has reached a new low by launching these vile and false attacks against her.”
Campaign finance records in Ohio show the governor’s cousin Jennifer Pritzker contributed $10,000 to Acton’s campaign in 2025, and in-law Susan Pritzker contributed $500 to Acton earlier this year.