When Amy Acton, director of the Ohio Public Health Department at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, began running for Ohio governor in January, there was an assumption among Ohio’s political class that Acton, a newbie to the often-brutal world of politics, wouldn’t last long.
An unwarranted assumption, as it turns out.
Acton’s candidacy for the 2026 Democratic gubernatorial nomination is alive and well. And, to the surprise of many, she still has the field on the Democratic side to herself.
Yes, there are other high-profile Democrats who may get into the race — former senator Sherrod Brown, former congressman and Senate and presidential candidate Tim Ryan, perhaps others. After all, the 2026 primary in Ohio is still nearly 11 months away.
But, for now, Acton is the only player on the field for the Democrats.
“I am deeply committed to this, no matter what happens,’’ Acton told WVXU. “I’m a lifelong public servant. That’s what I have done all my life.”
And, she said, after doing listening tours this year, before big crowds in every part of the state, Acton said she knew “this is our go-time.”
The timing may be right for a non-politician running in Ohio. Polling shows Donald Trump’s support among Ohio voters has faded considerably since last fall; and professional politicians of either party are not particularly popular these days.
It is way too early to put a crown on Acton’s head as a gubernatorial candidate, but, if you look at the record, it’s so far, so good.
In the first quarter of 2025 she set a fundraising record for a Democratic candidate for governor, raking in $600,000 from more than 10,000 donors, including people from all 88 Ohio counties.
At this point, the most likely Republican gubernatorial nominee — billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, who has the endorsement of Trump — has no more experience in elective office than Acton. Which means none.
And the only polling done in the race, an Ohio Public Policy Polling survey done in February for 3.14 Action, a group which supports candidates with a background in science, showed a head-to-head matchup between Acton and Ramaswamy as a statistical dead heat (45% for Acton, 44% for Ramaswamy.
The poll also showed that, by a 60% to 21% margin, voters say they trust a medical doctor when it comes to health care over a billionaire Biotech executive. When asked who they trust the most to relate to regular Ohioans between a medical doctor, a billionaire or a politician, 40% chose the medical doctor, 26% said the billionaire, and just 6% chose the politician.
And this week, Acton’s campaign posted a two-minute, 40-second ad that is running on nearly every significant social media platform.
Now, two minutes and 40 seconds of video is way too much for a broadcast media buy. The typical campaign ad on TV is 30 seconds; and no more than a minute.
But the genius of the video produced by Acton campaign strategist Justin Barasky is that it covers at least a half dozen topics that could easily be cut into 30-second campaign spots. And there’s no doubt they will be.
A run-down of the 2 minute, 40 second video:
- It starts out with grainy video laying out ties between Ramaswamy and the deeply unpopular Elon Musk. The pair worked together early on in the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Acton’s voice-over speaks of “self-serving billionaires (who) are creating chaos” and hurting Ohio families.
- There is a bio piece, detailing Acton’s difficult childhood in in Youngstown. “I moved 18 times before the age of 12, going to bed hungry and wondering where I would sleep at night.” But, she said, “with the kindness of strangers who cared,” she was able to go to college and medical school and overcome the challenges of her childhood.
- A piece that focuses on the pandemic and her becoming the face of the COVID crisis, through her daily briefings with Gov. Mike DeWine. It ends with video of the Republican governor praising her in 2020, saying “some heroes wear white coats.” Acton said “Ohioans know the problems we face don’t care if you are a Democrat or Republican.”
- A hit on corruption in Ohio politics, where she says that “lobbyists and politicians have a plan that is working for them.”
- A theme that runs throughout is when Acton says, that as a doctor she runs to danger, not away from it. “I refuse to look the other way when Ohioans are struggling.”
There is enough material right there to keep her campaign awash in 30-second TV ads for months, once the campaigning begins in earnest.
Brown and Ryan would be starting from scratch — although both are savvy politicians who know how to organize a campaign quickly.
In talking to Acton about her candidacy, it became clear that she will, in part, be running against the MAGA Republican super-majority in the Ohio General Assembly.
“I can’t stand by while they are giving rewards to the wealthy while cutting funding for education and health care while they give special breaks to build a stadium for the Browns,’’ Acton said. “I’m hoping the governor, who cares deeply about children, vetoes some of these things.”
But the fact is, Republicans in the legislature likely have the votes to override any veto.
But Acton, in her travels around Ohio, believes she has read the mood of Ohio voters.
“People are exhausted by all of this; it’s become either fight or flight all the time,’’ Acton said.
She spoke about a town hall she held in Lima, where an older man got up and was very emotional about what he sees happening in Ohio politics.
“He said, ‘Why don’t they care about us anymore?’ ” Acton said. “Most people are simply longing for people in office who care.”
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