NEW: Vivek Ramaswamy "Featured a Sex Offender" in New Campaign Ad

A bombshell investigation from The Bulwark reveals that Vivek Ramaswamy featured a registered sex offender on his social media and in a new campaign ad. Vernon Edwards, whom Ramaswamy met and shook hands with during a campaign stop, and who was spotlighted in Ramaswamy's ad (visible at :15), was sentenced to eight years in prison for "non-consensual sexual contact" with his underage niece - with allegations of similar acts against other nieces.

In addition to mocking Dr. Amy Acton's experience as an abuse survivor, Ramaswamy has repeatedly campaigned alongside creeps and abusers in his race for governor. He has proudly touted the endorsement of disgraced Congressman Max Miller - who has been credibly accused of child abuse and violence against multiple women - and of two Republican politicians who are under criminal investigation for crawling into bed with an underage relative in only his underwear, and who testified to talking with young girls about sex, respectively.

Ramaswamy has also yet to explain why his presidential super PAC accepted - and subsequently refused to return - a $100,000 check from known Epstein associate Glenn Dubin.

"Whether Vivek Ramaswamy and his campaign were just being sloppy or whether they think this predator's disgusting behavior is acceptable, it's absolutely disqualifying to give star billing to a pedophile," said DGA spokesperson Izzi Levy. "Unfortunately, this is part of a disturbing pattern of Ramaswamy rubbing elbows with the lowest of the low, and it's one more reason why Ohioans will never let Vivek near the governor's office."

The Bulwark: Ramaswamy Campaign Ad Accidentally Featured a Sex Offender

• …Vernon Edwards-Patty's husband, who appears a few times in b-roll alongside her in [Ramaswamy's] ad-is a registered sex offender.
• According to court records, Edwards entered into a plea deal in October 2006, in which he pleaded guilty to two counts of "gross sexual imposition"-that is, according to Ohio statute, non-consensual sexual contact-with a minor. Though there were allegations that he committed similar acts against several nieces, he was ultimately charged in a case involving one of them, a girl under the age of 13, because the statute of limitations had expired in the other instances. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.

• Vernon Edwards isn't the main focus of the Ramaswamy campaign ad. But he does appear several times in it, with footage drawn from a prior interaction he and his wife had with Ramaswamy at the Lorain County Fair in September this year. That interaction, posted in September by Ramaswamy to his X account, took place while he was glad-handing voters. Vernon Edwards greeted Ramaswamy with a handshake, and the candidate complimented his patriotic shirt.

• After offering the comment, the campaign also quietly took down the social video featuring Vernon Edwards, as did at least one Republican Ohio state representative who had shared the video as well-suggesting a coordinated effort to wipe the record.

• The inclusion of Vernon Edwards in the original social video and the television ad raises questions about the aspiring governor's campaign-specifically, whether it is conducting due diligence. Ramaswamy is running for chief executive of the Buckeye state-and asking Ohioans to trust his judgment enough to make him governor-on the strength of his personal narrative, which pictures him as a competent business leader.

• Campaigns typically vet the individuals they put forward in ads to ensure both that their stories are true and that there are no red flags in their biographies. Among the records that could have been discovered were court documents showing a Vernon Edwards from the same Amherst address as Patty listed in the Lorain County sex offender registry. In addition, a Google search would have shown Edwards appearing to wear the exact same patriotic shirt in the sex offender registry as the one Ramaswamy complimented him for wearing when they met at the fair.

###