COLUMBUS, Ohio — Democrat Dr. Amy Acton will be Ohio’s next governor, according to unofficial election results and the Associated Press. She becomes the first woman elected to the state’s top position and the first Democrat to clinch the seat in two decades.
Watch some of Acton's victory speech:
Acton defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy after contentious and record-breaking campaigns. Both raised more money than any candidate for governor before them.
The former Covid-era health director’s winning message was affordability and bipartisanship, highlighting what she will do to lower the cost of living in Ohio.
She is joined by her running mate David Pepper, an attorney and former party chair, who plans to focus on bringing down costs and rooting out corruption.
She will face a Republican-controlled legislature, but this will be the first time since the election of 2006 that a Democrat will get to appoint all cabinet positions.
While Acton has been leading in dozens of polls for months, she gained national sympathy after Ramaswamy aired a controversial ad featuring her estranged mother. The video featured Acton’s biological mother calling her a liar. Our reporting and court documents show that Acton was taken from her mother after her stepfather was charged with raping her as a child. The couple then fled the state to avoid trial, never seeing Acton again.
Acton is also the state’s first Jewish governor.
Watch Acton's one-on-one interview with News 5 below:
RELATED: Dr. Amy Acton discusses challenges in flipping Ohio blue
Follow Statehouse and Columbus bureau reporter Morgan Trau on X, Instagram and Facebook. Email her at Morgan.Trau@wews.com.
