Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton is criticizing Republican opponent Vivek Ramaswamy over more than $10,000 his campaign accepted from Andrew Havas, a Republican operative and Statehouse lobbyist who served jail time after pleading guilty in a case involving a 15-year-old.

“Ohioans deserve leaders who exercise good judgment and who put integrity first,” Acton wrote Tuesday. “I find it appalling that Vivek Ramaswamy accepted over $10,000 from Andrew Havas.”

Ohio campaign-finance records show Havas made five contributions totaling $10,102.54 to Ramaswamy’s gubernatorial campaign between February and June 2025.

The contributions included $2,602.54 on Feb. 28; separate donations of $2,000 and $1,000 on April 11; $2,500 on June 5; and $2,000 on June 18. The filings identify Havas as a consultant and list a Reynoldsburg address.

All five contributions predated both the recent reporting about Havas’s criminal case and his December appointment as a volunteer county chair for U.S. Sen. Jon Husted’s campaign. The records themselves do not show whether Ramaswamy or his campaign knew of Havas’s history when the money was accepted.

The controversy now centers on what Ramaswamy will do with the contributions after Havas’s record became a statewide campaign issue.

Ramaswamy’s campaign did not immediately respond Tuesday to questions about whether it knew of Havas’s history and whether it plans to return or donate the $10,102.54.

Havas resigned from Husted campaign

Havas resigned from Husted’s campaign after NBC News asked the senator’s team about his 2009 guilty plea in Mahoning County.

Husted’s campaign had named Havas its Franklin County campaign chair in December. He was one of 112 volunteers selected to represent Husted across Ohio’s 88 counties and had appeared on the campaign’s behalf at Republican events.

Havas also serves as vice chair of the Franklin County Republican Party’s executive committee and is registered with the state as a lobbying agent.

According to court records reviewed by NBC News, Havas was 22 when he was originally charged with sexual misconduct with a minor in a case involving a 15-year-old. The charge was later reduced to misdemeanor assault, and Havas pleaded guilty in 2009.

A criminal complaint accused Havas of being reckless as to the child’s age. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail and served the sentence in the Mahoning County jail from May through August 2009, NBC reported.

Husted spokesperson Amy Natoce said Havas had not disclosed the case to the campaign.

“Upon learning the facts, we immediately accepted his resignation as a campaign volunteer,” Natoce told NBC News.

Havas did not respond to the outlet’s requests for comment.

Acton makes the donations a judgment issue

No campaign-finance violation has been alleged in connection with Havas’s contributions. Acton’s criticism instead frames the money as a test of Ramaswamy’s judgment and whether his campaign will continue holding it now that the case has become public.

The dispute follows other scrutiny over the people whose financial support or endorsements Ramaswamy’s campaign has accepted.

TiffinOhio.net reported Sunday that the campaign received $10,000 from Cincinnati private equity founder Mark Hauser, who served federal prison time for paying to rig his daughter’s ACT score in the Operation Varsity Blues college-admissions scandal.

Ramaswamy’s campaign website has also continued promoting the endorsement of state Rep. Rodney Creech, who was accused by a minor female relative of climbing into bed with her while erect and wearing only his underwear. Creech admitted getting into the bed in his underwear but denied the allegation was sexual. A special prosecutor declined to charge him.

Separately, Ramaswamy’s campaign faces a state campaign-finance complaint alleging it failed to itemize more than $509,000 in credit-card spending. No ruling has been issued in that matter.

Ramaswamy and Acton will face each other in Ohio’s Nov. 3 general election.