Acton wins Ohio’s governorship

Audio By Carbonatix

(The Center Square) – Democrat Dr. Amy Acton became Ohio’s second female governor Tuesday night and the first to be elected.

Multiple news outlets called Acton’s 4-point win over former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who was endorsed repeatedly by President Donald Trump on several late-race visits to the state.

With 88% of the vote reported shortly before midnight, Acton held a 50.87% to 45.78% lead over Ramaswamy.

Acton is the first Democrat elected governor of Ohio since Ted Strickland in 2007.

Ohio’s first female governor was Republican Nancy Holllister, who served 11 days from Dec. 31, 1998 to Jan. 11, 1999, moving up from lieutenant governor when then-Gov. George Voinovich resigned to enter the race for U.S. Senate.

Acton began the night with a long lead of almost 15 points. The gap narrowed over the subsequent hours of ballot counting, but she held a steady lead and won with more than 2 million votes.

Acton accepted her victory with a celebratory “Hello Ohio!”

“I am so incredibly honored that I have earned the trust of Ohioans to be the next governor of Ohio,” Acton said. “I want to make something very clear to the people of Ohio. I will be a governor for all Ohioans. My promise to those who voted for me and those who did not is that I will work with everyone to make life better for Ohioans. I am proud of the work I did with Governor DeWine, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in the legislature on both sides of the aisle to ensure a very smooth transition.”

Ramaswamy called Acton and congratulated her on her victory.

The relatively tight race throughout the election season seemed to swing late when Ramaswamy produced an advertisement using Acton’s estranged mother, who had not seen or spoken with her daughter in nearly 50 years.

The ad, which questioned Acton being sexually abused by her stepfather as a young girl, drew national attention. Trump and Ramaswamy continued to support the ad, while other top Republicans in the state, including Gov. Mike DeWine and Sen. Jon Husted denounced it.