Amy Acton

Acton grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, and has spoken publicly about the hardships of her childhood.⁠[1][2]

Her campaign website says she paid her own way through college and medical school with jobs such as waitressing and delivering newspapers; her first residency assignment focused on the effects of the crack cocaine epidemic on children, after which she trained in pediatrics and preventive medicine at Children’s Hospital and Ohio State University, created the first residency rotation in child advocacy and earned a master’s degree in public health.⁠[2]

She then directed Project L.O.V.E., a partnership of Columbus-area hospitals and community groups focused on preventive child health, taught maternal and child health and global public health on the Ohio State University faculty, and led community health work at The Columbus Foundation on issues including youth homelessness and women’s health.⁠[2]

In February 2019 Republican Governor Mike DeWine chose Acton to lead the Ohio Department of Health; she served as director from February 26, 2019, the first woman to hold the post. Her campaign website says she worked across party lines on the opioid crisis, helping secure a settlement from drug companies to fund addiction recovery.⁠[3][4][2]

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic Acton held regular briefings with DeWine and led the state’s response. The briefings later drew protesters, some of them armed, as well as threats. Republicans have since criticized her pandemic record.⁠[3][5][6]

Acton left office on June 11, 2020. She has said she resigned over concerns about Republican-backed measures on health orders and threats she received over pandemic policies.⁠[4][3]

After leaving office she returned to The Columbus Foundation, helped found the Center for Human Kindness, helped launch RAPID 5, a nonprofit working to connect the region’s parks and waterways while improving health and economic well-being, and partnered with WKYC on the series “Health, Hope & Healing.” Her campaign website says she received the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation’s Profile in Courage Award in 2021 and was named USA TodayUSA TODAYUSA TODAY is a national general-interest daily newspaper and news brand in the United States. Founded under the leadership of Allen Neuharth and first published on September 15, 1982, it is known for its color pages, short stories, and abundant graphics. It is now published by USA TODAY Co. (formerly Gannett) and is the national flagship brand of the USA TODAY Network, and its brands also include the sports brand USA TODAY Sports.Open the full entry’s Ohio Woman of the Year in 2022.⁠[2]

She became active in Democratic politics and attended the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in summer 2024.⁠[3]

On January 7, 2025, Acton formally filed to seek the Democratic nomination in the 2026 Ohio governor’s race, and her campaign website went online shortly afterward. “I refuse to look away from Ohioans who are struggling,” she said.⁠[3]

On January 7, 2026, Acton’s campaign confirmed that former Ohio Democratic Party chair David Pepper would be her running mate for lieutenant governor. Pepper, a lawyer, served on Cincinnati City Council and as a Hamilton County commissioner and chaired the state Democratic Party from 2015 to 2020. Acton said the two “share a lifelong commitment to public service.”⁠[7][8]

Acton’s campaign website called for “a working families tax cut with property tax relief”; at an event where she received the AFL-CIO’s endorsement, she said she would combine “cuts, relief and even benefits and other deductions,” and suggested ending tax breaks that mainly benefit the wealthiest Ohioans. As of February 2026 she had not identified a funding source.⁠[9]

In April 2026 DeWine, discussing Acton’s tenure, said, “I’m the one who appointed her,” that “decisions that were made were made by the governor,” and that she “did a good job as director.”⁠[10]

In the May 5, 2026, primary Acton won the Democratic nomination for governor unopposed. In the first several months of 2026 her fundraising exceeded Ramaswamy’s.⁠[11][12]

Her campaign focuses on the cost of living, proposing child tax credits, lower prescription drug and utility costs, help for Ohioans to stay on Medicaid, reduced medical debt and a crackdown on hidden fees and scams; she has also proposed tax cuts for low-earning Ohioans and backs DeWine’s Medicaid work requirements.⁠[6][12][11]

On September 21, 2026, Acton’s campaign released an ad saying Ramaswamy “pushed an Alzheimer’s drug that he knew didn’t work” and “made hundreds of millions of dollars scamming people,” referring to intepirdine, developed by his company Axovant. On October 12 PolitiFact rated the claim Mostly False, finding that public records do not show how much he made from the drug and that he has not been charged with a crime.⁠[13]

In October 2026 a one-minute video featuring Acton’s birth mother spread online, calling Acton “a liar” who lies about her past, and urging voters not to vote for her. On October 20 Ramaswamy acknowledged that it was his campaign’s ad, and his team said it would spend $4 million to promote it.⁠[14][15]

Acton condemned the ad, saying, “I won’t normalize somebody who has said that my childhood is just something I’m complaining about.” She called his personal attacks “a lifelong pattern.” Her campaign spokesperson Addie Bullock called it a “repulsive advertisement” and said Ramaswamy “is totally unfit to lead Ohio.”⁠[14][15][16]

Ramaswamy said he would like the race to be about “the substantive issues that impact Ohioans,” adding, “She won’t debate me.”⁠[17]

The election for Ohio governor and lieutenant governor is scheduled for November 3, 2026, with three tickets on the ballot: Democrats Acton and David Pepper, Republicans Vivek RamaswamyVivek RamaswamyVivek Ramaswamy is an American entrepreneur and Republican politician who founded the biopharmaceutical company Roivant Sciences and the asset manager Strive, ran for president in 2024, briefly took part in DOGE, and is the Republican nominee in the 2026 Ohio governor’s election.Open the full entry and Robert A. McColley, and Libertarians Don Kissick and James Mills. By October 20 more than 676,000 Ohioans had already voted.⁠[18][14]

Personal website: Public link: https://actonforgovernor.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[3]

X: Public account: https://x.com/amyactonoh (opens in a new window)⁠[1]

YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AmyActonOH (opens in a new window)⁠[1]