Amy Acton Defeats Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio Governor’s Contest

Amy Acton at a campaign rally October 24, 2026, in Cleveland. Sue Ogrocki/AP Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily. Democrat Amy Acton defeated Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio’s governor’s race, receiving 51 percent of the vote to the Republican billionaire’s 45. “We are going to build an Ohio where everyone gets a fair shot, and every kid like me has the opportunity to reach their full potential,” Acton said from an election night watch party at a Hilton in downtown Columbus. It’s been 20 years since Ohio last elected a Democratic governor. Once a political bellwether, the state has shifted rightward in recent years, with president Donald Trump carrying the state by 8 points in both 2016 and 2020. In 2024, Trump edged out the Democratic ticket by an 11 percent margin. The math was not Acton’s only challenge. As a physician, she served as the director of Ohio’s Department of Health, where she worked alongside GOP Governor Mike DeWine to dictate the state’s policies during the initial phases of the Covid pandemic, before vaccines were available. While she did not unilaterally make the decisions to temporarily close schools and non-essential businesses in 2020, Republicans have attempted to brand her as “Dr. Lockdown” in a state that had a middling vaccination uptake rate. A more likeable Republican probably would’ve bested her. Instead, the GOP picked billionaire biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. In a campaign cycle consumed by voter concerns about affordability, Ramaswamy was flying by private jet to Ohio cities that could have been driven to in less than two hours. Ramaswamy also faced criticism for relocating a financial services company from Ohio to Texas, which has a more favorable regulatory environment. Meanwhile, Acton campaigned on the platform of ending corruption, introducing new tax cuts for working families, and helping the elderly age in place. As the end of October neared, she appeared to be marginally ahead in the polls. Then Ramaswamy shot himself in the foot by airing a controversial, deeply personal, and factually inaccurate attack ad against Acton. The 60 second spot featured Acton’s 82-year-old mother characterizing her estranged daughter as a “liar.” Acton hasn’t seen her mother since 1978, the year that her stepfather was indicted by a grand jury for raping Acton when she was 12. Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, fled the state with Acton’s abuser and stayed married to him until he died in 2004. Few Ohio voters I met loved Ramaswamy before the ad. Afterwards, many found him irredeemably immoral.