FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 16, 2026
CONTACT: [email protected]
ICYMI: Vivek Ramaswamy Airs Ad Featuring Convicted Child Sex Offender
COLUMBUS, OH– On Wednesday, new reporting revealed that Vivek Ramaswamy aired an ad featuring a child sex predator who was sentenced to 8 years in prison.
See coverage below:
On the Airwaves:
On CW:
Anchor: “The campaign for Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called out this week for a new ad campaign that features a woman from Amherst worried about rising property tax bills in the future of her farm.”
Anchor: “The controversy, included in that ad, are some shots of her husband, Vernon Edwards, a convicted sex offender. He was convicted of those sex crimes back in 2006 for molesting several young girls in his family.”
On WKRC:
Anchor: “Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy found himself having to answer some questions today about a new ad campaign featuring a woman from Amherst worried about rising property tax bills and the future of her farm.”
Anchor: “Also included in the ad were a few shots of the woman’s husband, Vernon Edwards, who was convicted of gross sexual imposition in 2006 for molesting several of his nieces under the age of 13.”
In Print:
The Bulwark: Ramaswamy Campaign Ad Accidentally Featured a Sex Offender
- The [ad] featured a woman from Amherst (a Cleveland suburb) named Patricia “Patty” Edwards, who is fretting about losing the family farm.
- But while the topic may resonate with voters, the featured couple has created complications for Ramaswamy’s camp.
- That’s because Vernon Edwards—Patty’s husband, who appears a few times in b-roll alongside her in the 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, nonconsensual 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.
- …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.
- In a phone call with The Bulwark, Patty said that the campaign reached out to her about recording the ad. She stressed that the commercial was about her story and had nothing to do with her husband.
- “I am a normal American citizen, and the ad was with me and with Vivek. That’s who was involved with us, and that’s who they reached out to,” she said. As for her husband’s past history, she called the accusations against him “false,” saying that the prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence. “Even if that [the allegations] were true,” she added, “the man did do his time back to society, and he has been an exemplary citizen at this point. And again, Vivek reached out to me. I am not accused of anything. I am an American citizen. I’m allowed to do this.”
- 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.
Chronicle-Telegram: Ramaswamy campaign to remove convicted Lorain County sex offender from property tax ad
- A campaign ad for Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy filmed partly at the Lorain County Fair has been edited to take out a brief appearance by a convicted sex offender.
- “Vernon Edwards greeted Ramaswamy with a handshake, and the candidate complimented his patriotic shirt,” TheBulwark.com reported.
- The campaign took down social media posts featuring Vernon Edwards, the website reported. It noted that campaigns often do background checks and research on people they feature in campaign ads.
- A Google search for Vernon Edwards “would have shown (him) 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,” TheBulwark.com reported.
- Vernon Edwards, then 60, pleaded guilty in October 2006 to two counts of gross sexual imposition, both felonies, in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. He was sentenced to eight years in prison and labeled a sexual predator.
- Gross sexual imposition is the crime of having nonconsensual sexual contact with someone, and Vernon Edwards was accused of assaulting an underage female family member, according to court records.
- He appealed his sentence, but the 8th District Court of Appeals upheld it.
- “At the sentencing hearing, it was revealed that Edwards had molested several other” alleged victims, Judge Patricia Ann Blackmon wrote in the appeals court’s 2007 decision. “However, due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, charges were never brought” on behalf of the other victims.
- Late in 2006, Vernon Edwards also pleaded guilty in Lorain County Common Pleas Court to one count of gross sexual imposition. Judge Mark Betleski sentenced him to one year in prison, to run concurrently with the prison time he received in Cuyahoga County.
- In 2016, after his release from prison, Vernon Edwards tried to get his sexual predator status overturned in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Judge Nancy Margaret Russo denied the request, according to court records.
Raw Story: GOP candidate scurries after sex offender repeatedly pops up in his TV ad: report
- Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign is reworking a new TV ad after revelations that a man shown in the spot is a registered sex offender.
- The ad focuses on property taxes and features Patricia “Patty” Edwards of Amherst, a Cleveland suburb, who talks about her fear of losing her family farm. The Bulwark reported that her husband, Vernon Edwards, who appears in background footage, pleaded guilty in October 2006 to two counts of gross sexual imposition involving a girl under 13 and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
- He is listed on the Lorain County sex offender registry.
- After commenting, the campaign also deleted the fair video from social media, according to The Bulwark. At least one Republican state representative who had shared it took it down as well.
- The Bulwark noted that basic vetting could have caught the problem. Court records list a Vernon Edwards at the same Amherst address as Patty, and his sex offender registry photo appears to show him wearing the same patriotic shirt Ramaswamy praised at the fair.
The New Republic: Vivek Ramaswamy Features Sex Offender in Campaign Ad
- In September, Ohio GOP gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy posted (and quickly deleted) a video on social media featuring himself shaking hands with a registered sex offender. He again featured that same man in a television campaign ad a month later, according to reporting from The Bulwark.
- In 2006, Amherst, Ohio, resident Vernon Edwards pleaded guilty to “gross sexual imposition,” which according to Ohio law involves sexual contact with a minor. He was charged in a case involving a 13-year-old girl, though he faced many similar allegations against his nieces.
- While Edwards didn’t have a speaking role in Ramaswamy’s commercial, he’s included in the B-roll footage as his wife Patty speaks about how the embattled gubernatorial candidate lowered her property taxes.
Daily Mail: Vivek Ramaswamy scrambles to pull ad after mortifying blunder featured registered sex offender
- 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.
- 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.
- According to the court records, allegations involving other relatives were not pursued because the statute of limitations had expired.
- 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.
WKRC: Questions raised after convicted sex offender appears in Ramaswamy campaign ad
- The campaign for Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy found itself having to answer questions about a new campaign ad.
- Also included in the ad were a few shots of the woman’s husband Vernon Edwards, who was convicted of gross sexual imposition in 2006 for molesting several of his nieces under the age of 13.
Online:
@JimSwiftDC: New from me: Ramaswamy Campaign Ad Accidentally Featured a Sex Offender
@samstein: NEW: Vivek Ramaswamy accidentally featured himself shaking hands with a sex offender in a social video and put that same offender in a campaign ad.
@factpostnews: Vivek Ramaswamy aired a campaign ad featuring a registered sex offender.
@HQNewsNow: Ohio Republican Vivek Ramaswamy just featured a registered sex offender in a recent campaign ad. Ramaswamy’s campaign has also taken $100,000 in donations from Jeffrey Epstein associates.
@DailyMail: Vivek Ramaswamy scrambles to pull ad after mortifying blunder featured registered sex offender
@NewsWire_US: Vivek Ramaswamy Ohio Governor Campaign Ad Accidentally Featured a Sex Offender — The Bulwark
@PollTracker2024: #OhioGovernor. The Bulwark: Vivek Ramaswamy Campaign Ad Accidentally Featured a Sex Offender. The campaign says it’s recutting the spot, which was meant to be about the plague of high property taxes.
@DemGovs: OHIO: Vivek Ramaswamy featured a registered sex offender in his latest campaign ad.
@newrepublic: Vivek Ramaswamy Features Sex Offender in Campaign Ad
@darreldrowland: Ooops… Vivek Ramaswamy Campaign Ad Accidentally Included a Sex Offender. The campaign says it’s recutting the spot, which was meant to be about the plague of high property taxes
###