On August 24, 2026, Ramaswamy launched a misleading campaign ad featuring controversial Ohio GOP activist Linda Caudill implying she could not visit her mother before she passed because Amy Acton “shut down the state.”
The ad failed to mention that Caudill’s mother, Dorothy Farrell, lived and died in Kentucky, not Ohio. There was no discernible reason Caudill could not visit her mother in hospice care since, prior to her death, COVID-19 guidelines in Kentucky allowed family members of loved ones in end-of-life care to visit and reopened gatherings of up to 50 people, and Ohio lifted its stay-at-home order.
In 2017, when Caudill was a campaign volunteer for Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci, she posted a Facebook meme appearing to support the assassination of Renacci’s primary opponent Jon Husted that implied the use of a “silencer” against Husted. Caudill also attacked Husted in the comments of his former staffer’s post about her deceased grandmother. Renacci’s campaign “parted ways” with Caudill following the controversial posts.
August 24, 2026: Ramaswamy’s Campaign Ad Featured Ohio GOP Activist Linda Caudill Implying She Could Not See Her Mother In Her Nursing Home Before She Passed Because Amy Acton “Shut Down The State.” According to Tiffin Ohio, “The spot, paid for by Vivek Ramaswamy and Rob McColley for Ohio and tracked by the ad-monitoring firm Medium Buying, features Delhi Township Republican activist Linda Caudill speaking directly to the camera about her mother. ‘I had to put my mother in a nursing home because she had fallen,’ Caudill says. ‘A few weeks after that is when Amy Acton shut down the state. My mother didn’t understand it. It traumatized her. She didn’t know why her family couldn’t come visit her. Two months later, she died. Amy Acton is to blame for this.’” [Tiffin Ohio, 8/25/26]
July 25, 2020: Dorothy Farrell, Caudill’s Mother And A Resident Of Erlanger, Kentucky, Died At St. Elizabeth Hospice In Edgewood Kentucky. According to Tiffin Ohio, “Dorothy Farrell was 88 years old and a resident of Erlanger, Kentucky. She died on Saturday, July 25, 2020, at St. Elizabeth Hospice in Edgewood, Kentucky, according to her obituary from the Ronald B. Jones Funeral Home in Ludlow, Kentucky. Her funeral Mass was held at St. Henry Church in Elsmere, Kentucky. She was buried in Fort Thomas, Kentucky. The same obituary that establishes those facts identifies one of Farrell’s surviving children as ‘daughter, Linda Caudill of Delhi, OH.’” [Tiffin Ohio, 8/25/26]
Governor Mike DeWine Lifted Ohio’s Stay-At-Home Order And Acton Resigned As Ohio Health Director Prior To Farrell’s Death. According to Tiffin Ohio, “Gov. Mike DeWine lifted Ohio’s stay-at-home order on May 19, 2020, replacing it with an advisory containing strong recommendations and dropping travel restrictions. Farrell died more than two months later. Acton resigned as Ohio health director on June 11, 2020. Farrell died six weeks later.” [Tiffin Ohio, 8/25/26]
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear Allowed Gatherings Of Up To 50 People To Resume Prior To Farrell’s Death, And Kentucky’s COVID-19 Visitation Restrictions Had An Exception For Patients Receiving End-Of-Life Care. According to Tiffin Ohio, “Kentucky allowed gatherings of up to 50 people to resume beginning June 29. Farrell died nearly a month after that. And Kentucky’s own restrictions included an exception for people receiving end-of-life care from the beginning of the pandemic. When Gov. Andy Beshear restricted visitation at Kentucky nursing homes in March 2020, patients receiving end-of-life care were the only group still permitted visitors, according to the National Governors Association’s record of Kentucky’s pandemic actions.” [Tiffin Ohio, 8/25/26]
2017: As A Volunteer For Jim Renacci’s Gubernatorial Campaign, Caudill Posted A Meme Of Jon Husted Tied To A Chair With Duct Tape On His Mouth Captioned, “A Silencer Is A Good Thing When Used Properly,” And Repeatedly Attacked Husted In The Comments Of His Former Staffer’s Post About Her Deceased Grandmother. According to Tiffin Ohio, “In 2017, she served as a volunteer and county leader for Jim Renacci’s gubernatorial campaign. That October, days after the mass shooting in Las Vegas, Caudill posted a meme to Facebook depicting a man bound to a chair with rope. Jon Husted’s face had been edited onto the man, with duct tape covering his mouth. The caption read: ‘A Silencer is a good thing when used properly.’ Cleveland.com reported at the time that the meme seemed to advocate Husted’s assassination. A Renacci spokesman said Caudill’s post did not reflect the campaign and that she had been asked to remove it. A month earlier, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Caudill had entered the comments of a Facebook post written by a former Husted staffer as a tribute to her deceased grandmother and repeatedly attacked Husted there. She posted derogatory memes, including one comparing him to a portable toilet, and called him ‘disgusting.’ After the ‘silencer’ post drew additional attention, Renacci’s campaign parted ways with Caudill.” [Tiffin Ohio, 8/25/26]