Ohio elects first female governor

Dr. Amy Acton won the Ohio gubernatorial race on Tuesday, defeating Republican challenger Vivek Ramaswamy. The 60-year-old public health physician becomes the state's first woman governor and the first Democrat to hold the seat in two decades. She succeeds Mike DeWine, the term-limited Republican governor who served alongside Acton during the early months of the pandemic.

Acton campaigned on affordability and healthcare access, highlighting her background as an Ohio native who experienced homelessness as a child. She positioned herself against Ramaswamy, a biotech billionaire and 2024 presidential candidate who had the support of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Both national leaders visited Ohio in the final weeks to rally for Ramaswamy and Republican Senator Jon Husted.

The election was defined by a 60-second attack ad aired by Ramaswamy in the final month. The spot featured Donna Arthur, Acton's estranged mother, calling her daughter a liar and urging voters to withhold their support. The ad drew national criticism from both parties because Arthur had lost custody of the children decades ago after their stepfather was indicted for raping Acton as a child and fled the state before trial.

Ramaswamy's campaign spent over $100 million, including at least $5 million from Elon Musk into an aligned political action committee. Despite this financial advantage, Acton's team argued that Ramaswamy was out of touch with voters dealing with high costs of living and fuel prices. They also noted that Ohio Republicans had initially struggled with internal disunity after DeWine appointed Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted to the Senate.

In the Republican primary, Casey Putsch, a vehicle designer and YouTube creator, captured nearly 18% of the vote with a $130,000 campaign. Putsch directed veiled ethnic and religious attacks at the Hindu Ramaswamy and later announced he would vote for Acton. Several Ohio politicians, including five former governors and alumni of Ramaswamy's high school, called for the attack ad to be pulled, labeling it gutter politics.

The Ramaswamy campaign kept the ad on the air until about a week before the election. They spent roughly a quarter of their announced $4 million ad buy on the spot. Trump defended the move, saying he was jealous he had not been able to run a similar attack against a rival. DeWine, who endorsed Ramaswamy, defended his former Cabinet member by saying the responsibility for early pandemic decisions rested with him.

Acton enters office without prior elective experience. Her victory marks a shift in the state's political balance, which Democrats had largely written off during the Trump era. The result ends a period of Republican control over the governor's mansion and places a new leader in charge of the state's administration.