Democrat Amy Acton has won Ohio’s race for governor, defeating Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, according to a projection by the Associated Press. AP called the race at 10:49 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Acton will be the first woman elected governor of Ohio, and the first Democrat to win the job since 2006. The seat was open because Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, could not run again due to term limits. Acton takes office in January and will work with a state legislature led by Republicans.
As of about 11:45 p.m. ET, Acton had 2,108,302 votes to Ramaswamy’s 1,895,031 — about 51% to 46% — with about 87% of precincts reporting. The numbers are unofficial. No result is final until the state certifies it.
Who are the candidates?
Amy Acton, Democrat. A doctor who grew up in Youngstown, she led Ohio’s Department of Health in 2019 and 2020 under Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and became a familiar face during the first months of the COVID pandemic. She has never held elected office. She campaigned on cutting costs for working families, including a tax cut for parents, protecting Medicaid, lowering drug prices and putting more money into public schools.
Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican. A Cincinnati native, he made his fortune in business, starting the drug company Roivant Sciences in 2014. He ran for president in 2024, then dropped out and backed Donald Trump, who endorsed him for governor. He campaigned on phasing out Ohio’s income tax, rolling back property taxes, paying teachers based on merit and cutting government rules and red tape.
Follow every race call on the Zark News election results page.
