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Meet Democrat Amy Acton, who is taking on Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio guv’s race

Amy Acton is a physician who previously served as Ohio’s state health director. Her campaign website describes her as a ‘mother, grandmother and a doctor of preventive medicine.’ She is now up against Vivek Ramaswamy in a high-stakes governor’s race

Dr Amy Acton comes from a family that worked in the steel mills. She grew up under challenging circumstances. Her family moved from place to place, often not knowing where they would sleep or eat. Image courtesy: actonforgovernor.com

FP Explainers|May 06, 2026, 15:12:38 IST

It’s official. Republican Vivek Ramaswamy will be taking on Democrat Amy Acton in the Ohio governor’s race.

This comes after Ramaswamy, who is backed by US President Donald Trump, and Acton both won their party primaries in the state. Much has already been written about the Indian-origin Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur worth around $1.8 billion (Rs 1.71 lakh crore).

But who is Acton? What do we know about her?

Who is she?

As per Hindustan Times, Dr Acton is a physician who previously served as Ohio state’s health director. A native of Youngstown in Ohio, her campaign website describes her as a ‘mother, grandmother and a doctor of preventive medicine.’

According to the website, Acton comes from a family that worked in the steel mills. She grew up under challenging circumstances. Her family moved from place to place, often not knowing where they would sleep or eat. Acton put herself through college and medical school by delivering newspapers and working as a waitress.

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Career path:

She then undertook a residency at Children’s Hospital and Ohio State University, where she trained in paediatrics and preventive medicine.

Her first assignment was handling the crack cocaine epidemic in children. It was there that she also established the first-ever residency rotation in child advocacy.

She also completed her master’s degree in public health.

Professional roles:

Acton kicked off her career as the director of Project LOVE, where she handled public-private partnerships between Columbus-area hospitals and key community stakeholders.

She then joined Ohio State University, where she worked as a professor of maternal and child health as well as public health.

She also joined the Columbus Foundation, where she worked to better community health and well-being, particularly women’s health and youth homelessness.

Covid-19 moment: In 2019, Acton was appointed Director of the Ohio Department of Public Health by Ohio Governor Mark DeWine. Wearing a white medical coat, Acton was a fixture at daily Covid-19 briefings with DeWine that were highly anticipated events watched in households across the state.

Day after day, she calmly explained the virus’s trajectory, the grim march of hospitalisations and deaths, and reassuringly provided tips on how Ohioans should conduct themselves. “Ohio, don the mask, don your cape,” Acton said at the time, asking ordinary people to act like superheroes. It inspired a Dr Amy Acton Fan Club with its own yard signs, a bobblehead doll and a proposal to honour her with a state holiday.

In 2019, Amy Acton was appointed Director of the Ohio Department of Public Health by Ohio Governor Mark DeWine. It made her a household name in the state. Image courtesy: eriecountydems.org

Recognition and impact:

According to her campaign website, she also helped shape what would become the historic opioid settlement paid out by pharma firms to citizens of Ohio.

Acton was awarded a Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation in 2021.

She was also named Woman of the Year for Ohio by USA Today in 2022.

Acton then returned to the Columbus Foundation, where she helped establish the Center for Human Kindness. She coordinated with CEOs, mayors and community advocates to launch Rapid 5, a nonprofit to promote the region’s health and economic wellness.

Personal life:

Acton lives in Ohio’s Bexley with her family.

Her husband Eric has been a teacher and coach within the city’s schools since 1987. They have six children.

Their hobbies include travelling, exploring nature and spending time with their good friends and growing family.

Finances

As per Hindustan Times, Acton, in her financial disclosure, reported no income.

She said she owned at least 121 separate investments valued at a minimum of $1,000.

These comprise shares of Apple, Cisco, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, PepsiCo and UnitedHealth Group, as well as an

S&P 500 index fund.

Acton owns $1,000 in tobacco company Imperial Brands, and a minimum of $1,000 in Philip Morris International.

She also owns a business under the name Dr Amy Acton, LLC.

Campaign money: As per TRTWorld.com, Acton has raised $5.1 million (Rs 48.44 crore) from January 2026 to March 2026.

If she wins, she would be the first woman governor of Ohio.

The controversy: Ironically, it is her time as the state health official — when she became a household name in Ohio — which might be the biggest stumbling block to her political ambitions.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Acton, at the behest of DeWine, signed orders closing schools, shuttering businesses, restricting sporting events and suspending voting in the 2020 primary. This action is drawing fresh attention as she runs for the state’s top office and has become a central line of criticism from Republicans.

The political challenge: Acton has an uphill task. She is trying to be the first Democrat in 20 years to win the office in a state that has become dominated by Republicans. Her opponent, Ramaswamy, has national name recognition and a personal fortune that he is ploughing into his campaign.

Republican candidate for Ohio governor Vivek Ramaswamy in a file Photo/Reuters

Attack lines: During campaign rallies, Ramaswamy has accused Acton of spreading dangerous “COVID ideology”. Ramaswamy is airing ads capitalising on lingering anger over the election order that Acton issued for DeWine. At Republican events around the state, mention of Acton’s name elicits loud boos. “Are we choosing freedom or are we choosing Fauci?” asked Zac Haines, a Republican campaigning for the state Senate, in a reference to former national infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, as the candidate warmed up a recent Ramaswamy fundraising crowd. “Are we choosing liberty or are we choosing lockdowns?”

Her response: Acton’s campaign said it does not think voters will buy it. “Dr Acton is proud of the work she did alongside Governor DeWine to put public health over politics, save lives and keep Ohioans safe,” her campaign spokesperson, Addie Bullock, said in a statement. “It is unfortunate that Vivek Ramaswamy wants to play politics on this issue.”

On the campaign trail: Campaigning this year, she seems to tread cautiously when discussing her time as Ohio’s health chief, sometimes avoiding use of the words COVID-19 or coronavirus. “I had the honour and the privilege, the privilege, of serving in a very tough moment,” she told a Democratic crowd in southwest Ohio in March.

“I’m proud of Ohioans, because together we flattened that curve, we saved a lot of lives.” Ohio ranked 22nd among the states in its per capita death rate from the virus during the pandemic’s first year, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Aftermath: Acton, who left the job halfway through 2020, does not dwell on what happened after the government imposed restrictions: the mutiny against DeWine over business closures and health mandates, the legislation by Republicans to limit the governor’s powers and the protesters, some of them armed, outside her house.

At a recent States Forum symposium in Columbus, where people from across the political spectrum were brought together to try to find common ground within the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, Acton said she had worked for or advised five different governors. “So I’ll work with anyone who wants to solve a problem rather than make one,” she said, “which is what Ohioans are longing for.”

DeWine’s defence: While he has endorsed Ramaswamy, DeWine denounced the campaign’s ad against Acton for suspending the 2020 primary. “I told her to issue the health order,” the governor said. “The decision was mine.”