Democrat Amy Acton has beaten Republican Vivek Ramaswamy to claim the Ohio governorship in a fiercely fought race.
With this projected win, Acton becomes the first Democrat and the first woman ever to secure the Ohio governor’s race in twenty years.
Ohio, which was a major battleground for much of the 2000s, has backed Republican Donald Trump in the past three presidential elections, including by 11 points in 2024.
Yet the gubernatorial contest, where voters’ frustration over the economy and the cost of living dominated, took an unexpected turn once the Ramaswamy campaign released a deeply personal attack ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother.
In the ad, Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, said her daughter “lied her entire life.” It made no mention that Arthur’s husband had been charged with raping Acton when she was a child.
The controversial advert hung over the final weeks of the race. It drew criticism from former South Carolina Governor and Republican Nikki Haley, while Ohio’s sitting Republican Governor Mike DeWine called it “deeply troubling.”
Still, some came to its defense, among them President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance.
Trump called it “powerful” and urged Ramaswamy to keep it on the air, while Vance, the state’s former senator, said he wished fellow Republicans would stop “whining” about the ad and that he was “a little bit disgusted” by criticism from members of his own party.
Ramaswamy said his campaign would spend $4m (£3m) to broadcast the ad statewide.
After the ad started airing, the editorial board of the local Ohio news outlet, the Columbus Dispatch, endorsed Acton, calling the ad “revolting and unsettling.”
The billionaire biotech entrepreneur ran against Trump for the Republican nomination in 2024. He then shifted to the Ohio governor’s race and presented himself as a political outsider much like Trump who aimed to advance the president’s “America First” agenda.
In his concession speech, Ramaswamy said he is “rooting” for the state and for Acton as well.
Acton is a physician and public health official who spoke about her childhood experience with homelessness while campaigning on affordability.
In her acceptance speech on Tuesday, she declared that “the healing begins today.”
“My promise to Ohio, to those who voted for me and those who did not, is that I will work with anyone and everyone, and I always have to make life better for Ohioans,” she said.
Acton takes over from Republican Governor Mike DeWine, who is barred by term limits from running again.
Ohio is a swing state that backed Trump in the 2024 election, yet Republican candidates now face tight races across the country.
