Vivek Ramaswamy says his call to Amy Acton went to voicemail when he contacted her to concede the Ohio governor's race. "We left her a message," Ramaswamy said, as he admitted "It's a tough night for us here in Ohio." Tensions were high between the pair after the Republican put out a campaign ad last month which featured Acton's estranged mother calling her a liar. With 81 percent of votes counted, Acton had garnered 50.7 percent of the vote, while Ramaswamy had 46 percent, when Ramaswamy conceded.
Acton's victory sees Democrats take back control in Ohio for the first time in two decades. The 60-year-old will become the first woman to serve as Ohio’s governor and will end 16 years of Republican control in the Buckeye state. The former Republican presidential candidate said that it was a “tough race,” and that it was “bitter at times in both directions.” The race had become one of the most expensive and contentious in the country.
The Ramaswamy campaign advert featured Acton’s mother Donna Arthur saying her daughter was lying about her childhood. Acton’s mother lost custody of her after her husband, Acton’s stepfather, was indicted for raping Acton at the age of 12. The backlash drew bipartisan condemnation, who urged Ramaswamy to remove the advert and apologize.
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance backed the advert, which the campaign said that it would spend $4 million on airing, before it was ultimately discontinued. Acton will now lead the state, which sits at the forefront of debates over the economy, AI data centers and the country’s political economy. With 95 percent of the vote counted, Acton has garnered 51.9 percent of the vote to Ramaswamy’s 44.8 percent, as per the .
Donald Kissick of the Libertarian Party won 3.3 percent of the vote. This is a developing story and will be updated.
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