Being the face of the 2020 COVID pandemic for millions of Ohioans might be a two-edged sword for a candidate for Ohio governor like Dr. Amy Acton.
On one edge, you are the calm, authoritative voice who stood by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine every day through the worst of the public health crisis, giving Ohioans your advice and expertise as director of the Ohio Department of Health and, in the end, saving an untold number of lives.
On the other side, you could be seen as a menace who used her emergency powers to virtually shut down the state with shelter-in-place orders, masking in public, and forcing Ohio’s school students into remote learning.
It bought her a seemingly endless round of public demonstrations, lawsuits and threats of violence against her and her family,
But the straw that broke the camel's back and led her to leave her job in June of 2020 was her refusal to sign off on a request from Republican state legislators that she and DeWine lift the ban on county fairs at a time when even hospitals were still facing restrictions. She refused, and resigned her position.
And now, the Youngstown native — who grew up in poverty and experienced homelessness at an early age — is the only Democrat who has so far raised her hand to run for Ohio governor in 2026. She declared her candidacy at a time when other potential Democratic candidates appear to be running for the exits after seeing Donald Trump win Ohio in three straight presidential elections.
“I truly believe that I formed a bond with people during COVID," Acton told WVXU in a recent interview. “I hear it everywhere I go. People are eager for change. They know that we can do better in this state and in this country.”
For months now, the 59-year-old physician has been traveling the state, holding events with Ohio voters who treat her as a serious voice in Ohio politics, even though they have never seen her name on any ballot for any office.
David Pepper, the former Ohio Democratic Party chairman, has been advising Acton and her campaign team. He sees a “lightning-strike opportunity” for Acton as a gubernatorial candidate.
“There’s really a connection there between her and voters,’’ Pepper said. “You see it in the crowds showing up for her in the opening days of the campaign. You ordinarily see that at the end of successful campaigns, not at the beginning.”
One issue that Acton spoke out on forcefully was the decision by the Trump administration to eliminate funding for the one federal agency that helps fund public libraries.
“Public schools and libraries saved my life as a child,’’ Acton said. “We lived for a time in a basement with one light bulb and I could read books. That’s how I survived the hard times.”
“These are issues that touch people’s lives every day,” Acton said. “It’s about extreme wealth and power coming after things we hold dear — our libraries and our schools,” Acton said. “People are tired of all the chaos in Washington. They are tired of cutting government funding just to give tax breaks to the wealthiest among us.”
After leaving the DeWine administration, Acton went back to her previous job at the Columbus Foundation, where she helped found the Center for Human Kindness. She lives in the Columbus suburb of Bexley with her six kids and husband Eric, a high school teacher and track coach.
When talking about her candidacy, Acton makes a point of expressing gratitude to DeWine, the Republican governor who gave her a chance to run the Ohio Department of Health — the governor she now hopes to follow into that office.
“I was honored to work alongside the governor,” Acton said. “I feel that with every bone in my body.”
On the Republican side, billionaire entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, formerly Elon Musk’s partner at DOGE, appears to be the frontrunner of the GOP gubernatorial nomination, with his endorsement from Trump and a growing list of Ohio Republican officeholders. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost also is in the race.
Mark R. Weaver, a lawyer and longtime GOP strategist in Ohio, sees no chance for Acton in a deeply red state like Ohio.
“Amy Acton will be the favorite of the small slice of Ohioans who fondly remember double masking and kids kept out of schools, but most Ohioans see the COVID era much differently,” Weaver said. “She is likely to lose by a double-digit margin and the rest of the Democrat ticket will go down with her.”
Acton sees things a bit differently.
“My eyes are wide open; I know the challenges,” Acton said. “But I have a constituency and bond with voters that doesn’t have anything to do with politics.”
Pepper said he believes the moment may be right for a candidate like Acton, who comes from outside the realm of politics.
“This could well be another John Glenn moment,’’ said Pepper, speaking of the late senator who had universal fame and was highly respected as a Mercury astronaut long before his career in politics.
“I think that moment could be coming around again,’’ Pepper said. “A moment when people are tired of politics as usual and are looking for someone different. And Amy Acton has the skill set to be that person.”
Acton’s campaign raised some eyebrows a few weeks ago when her campaign released its first quarter campaign fundraising. She raised a record $600,000, from over 10,000 donors. The donor average was $23 per person. It was the most ever raised by an Ohio Democratic candidate in a quarter, breaking the old record of $472,000 raised by then-governor Ted Strickland in 2009.
“We will focus on funding public schools, on the high cost of child care — the kind of issues that people care about, real-life issues,” Acton said. “I will bring the same passion to this as I did to COVID.
“I say what Tim Walz said in his town hall meetings in Ohio this month,’’ Acton said. “Don’t mistake kindness for weakness.”
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