Democrat Amy Acton won the Ohio gubernatorial race, defeating Republican businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, NBC News projects.
The race turned hostile in its final days after Ramaswamy’s campaign produced and aired an attack ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother.
Acton, 60, is the state’s first woman elected governor. Former Lt. Gov. Nancy Hollister served as governor for 11 days in 1999 after Republican Gov. George Voinovich moved to the Senate.
She is also the first Democrat to win Ohio’s governorship since Ted Strickland won a single four-year term in 2006. Since then, the state has moved decisively to the right and has supported Donald Trump by comfortable margins in three consecutive presidential elections.
Ramaswamy, 41, lost despite Trump’s support and having top strategists from his and Vice President JD Vance’s political teams advising him as well as a super PAC lined up.
“Tonight, Ohio chose unity and decency over division and hatred,” Acton said in a statement. “Ohio is ready to have a governor who will fight to cut costs, fight corruption and build a state where everyone has a fair chance. No matter who you voted for, I will be the governor for all Ohioans. It’s not about party, it’s about building a better future for our state.”
Acton will succeed term-limited Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican under whom she served as health director during the early days of the Covid pandemic.
Acton and Ramaswamy found themselves in an increasingly costly and acrimonious fight as polls showed Democrats had a strong chance of winning Ohio’s governorship for the first time in 20 years. Neither candidate has held elected office, although Ramaswamy made an unsuccessful bid against Trump for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024. To the end, Acton refused to debate Ramaswamy, with her campaign manager saying she had no interest in “outing a crook.”
The most seismic development in their battle came two weeks before Election Day, when Ramaswamy’s campaign announced it would spend $4 million to air an ad in which Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, called her daughter a liar and urged Ohioans not to vote for her. Acton said she had not seen or spoken with Arthur in almost 50 years and accused her mother’s husband of sexually assaulting her when she was a child.
The ad did not mention details of the abuse case, but drew widespread bipartisan condemnation from DeWine and others who saw it as an exploitation of a family’s painful history. Ramaswamy refused to remove or apologize for the ad.
“My opponent chose to intentionally exploit my childhood to save his ailing campaign, but it won’t work,” Acton said at an Oct. 24 rally with former President Barack Obama in Cleveland.
Ramaswamy, who has pledged to reduce property taxes and phase out the state income tax, invested a considerable amount of his own money in his campaign. Meanwhile, the pro-Ramaswamy super PAC received millions of dollars in donations from fellow billionaires Elon Musk and Jeffrey Yass.
Acton, for his part, cited his service in a Republican administration as an example of his ability to appeal to all political sensibilities. She presented herself as moderate in tone and policy while calling Ramaswamy extreme. She also often spoke about growing up poor in Youngstown while trying to make Ramaswamy’s wealth a liability as voters grappled with high prices. She and her Democratic allies have repeatedly criticized Ramaswamy for traveling around the state on a private jet.
Ramaswamy’s high-flying ways became such a focal point that even some of his fellow Republicans expressed displeasure with his emphasis on luxury.
Others have speculated that Ramaswamy’s Indian American heritage and Hindu faith in a predominantly white, Christian state could dampen his campaign. Ramaswamy himself acknowledged the barrage of racism and bigotry he faced online when he announced he had deleted social media apps from his phone.
Ramaswamy and his allies have focused on Acton’s role as state health director during Covid. This work made Acton a household name in Ohio, providing her with the launching pad she would eventually use to run for governor. But it also made her a convenient villain for Republicans, who relentlessly attacked her for her involvement in closing schools and businesses — not to mention the fact that DeWine, a Republican, had the last laugh. DeWine has since said attacks on Acton’s work during the pandemic were unfair.
Acton, 60, also faced scrutiny following a report of a “domestic dispute” after police responded to an incident at her home in 2019. Acton, who has not been charged with a crime, described the affair as a “verbal argument” with her husband over his work hours.
Ramaswamy and the Republicans spent considerable sums on sensationalized advertising about the incident and focused on a police report that found Acton told officers she had been drinking and taking an unknown amount of prescription drugs. Acton’s campaign said she was not drunk and that the drug was one she had taken regularly for years.
Trump traveled to Ohio to support Ramaswamy in person. The president, however, noted that Ramaswamy ran against him briefly in 2024.
“It wasn’t easy,” Trump said at an Oct. 3 rally in Vandalia, near Dayton. “That one wasn’t easy. He was a mean guy. But you know what? He was smart. He loves the state. He actually has a big heart.”
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