A national blue wave hit Ohio Tuesday, delivering the governor's office to a Democrat for the first time in 20 years. Voters also sent former U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown back to that chamber, defeating incumbent Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH).
Shortly before 11 p.m., the Associated Press declared a winner in what had become one of the biggest gubernatorial races in the country. Former state health director Amy Acton became the first woman elected governor in Ohio, and the first governor-elect in more than a hundred years to have never been elected to public office before.
“Ohio has chosen unity and decency. The healing begins today," Acton declared to a crowd at the Ohio Democratic Party's election night event at a hotel in Columbus. “I will be a governor for all Ohioans. I’m in this fight for all of us. I will work with anyone and everyone to make life better for Ohioans.”
Acton, who had been appointed health director by Gov. Mike DeWine in 2019, was locked in an expensive race with tech billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy. The contest is estimated to cost more than $100 million dollars when spending by outside groups or political action committees is considered.
Republicans blasted Acton for actions during the COVID pandemic, which DeWine had said were his decisions. Ads and social media posts from Republicans also suggested Acton had addiction problems, which she denied. Acton and her supporters had accused Ramaswamy of being an out-of-touch billionaire who made millions by pushing an Alzheimer's drug that failed clinical trials, an allegation Ramaswamy called "slanderous".
In what may have been a defining moment in the campaign, Ramaswamy launched ads in late October featuring Acton’s estranged mother Donna Arthur, who lost custody of Acton and her brother in 1978. That year Arthur moved out of Ohio with her husband, who had been indicted for raping Acton when she was 12 years old. Acton said she’s been through some tough times, but it made her stronger.
“I will be a relentless warrior for Ohio," Acton promised.
In his concession speech, Ramaswamy told a crowd at the Ohio Republican Party's election night event at a Columbus hotel that it had been a race that was “bitter in both directions.” But he wished Acton well.
“We are rooting for the success of this state. We’re rooting for your success. And that means that all of us in this room should be rooting for the success of her administration," Ramaswamy said.
In another history-making result for Democrats, political veteran Sherrod Brown will go back to the U.S. Senate, two years after losing re-election. Brown ousted incumbent Republican Jon Husted in the costliest race in Ohio history and one of the most expensive in the country this cycle, with ad spending topping half a billion dollars.
“You sent an undeniable message tonight that Ohio is not for sale," Brown told the crowd.
Brown said he wants to make some changes in the Senate, starting with rules on how senators can invest their money: "One of the first things I’m going to do in the Senate is to ban Congress from trading stocks."
Brown had campaigned on lowering gas prices by ending the war in Iran, and also said he wanted to end tariffs and address other affordability issues.
“I do not work for utility companies. I do not work for data centers. I do not work for Wall Street," Brown said.
At the Republican watch party headquarters, Husted lamented the loss.
"As all of you know, I’ve been in a lot of competitions in my life, and most of them turn out well, but sometimes they don’t turn out how you wish they would," Husted said.
Husted wished Brown well, saying candidates should “win with humility and gratitude and lose with grace and dignity.”
