Ohio governor’s race: See which candidates are running for 2026
Here are the candidates that have entered the 2026 race for governor in Ohio.
The fight over who’ll be the next Ohio governor is getting ugly with accusations about fitness for the job. And the election is still more than six months away.
Republican Vivek Ramaswamy said Democrat Amy Acton has no vision for the state “other than to complain about what someone else did to her.” Ramaswamy posted the remark to his X account on April 14.
Acton’s camp says Ramaswamy’s comment is an attempt to shame her for her traumatic childhood.
“Vivek Ramaswamy’s recent comments attacking Amy – a doctor, a mom, and a survivor – for sharing her experience of being sexually abused as a child are not just disgusting. They are disqualifying,” her campaign manager Philip Stein said in a written statement. “It’s unconscionable that Vivek Ramaswamy would do anything but stand with survivors of sexual assault.”
The Ramaswamy campaign said that’s not what he meant at all. Ramaswamy has repeatedly spoken about rejecting victimhood, authoring “Nation of Victims” in 2022.
“Amy Acton is lying about what he said, just like she lied to Ohioans during Covid,” said Ramaswamy campaign spokeswoman Connie Luck. “Just watch the video, or any of his other speeches over the last two years. This is a desperate attempt to distract from the fact that Amy Acton owes Ohioans answers on some serious questions about her past. She hasn’t been honest, and it’s not looking good.”
This latest flap comes on the heels of news stories about a police call to Acton’s home in 2019 over a domestic dispute between Acton and her husband.
Acton’s campaign said Ramaswamy allies are using the “private verbal disagreement” to smear her as the race intensifies.
Her husband, Eric Acton, issued a statement that said: “Seven years ago, I had too much to drink while Amy only had one drink. I started the verbal argument while she tried to de-escalate the situation, and eventually went to bed. I take responsibility for my actions that led to the police coming to our home, which was ultimately the result of a single fight between two people who love each other very much.”
No one was charged or arrested in the incident, which the police report noted was a “verbal dispute only” and showed “no evidence of any physical violence.”
Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X: “Leftwing psychopath @amyactonoh shouldn’t be running for Governor in Ohio, she should be seeking help.” Ramaswamy and his running mate, Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, reposted that post.
Although Ohio is a red state, Ramaswamy could be facing headwinds created by President Donald Trump’s unpopularity and decision to attack Iran. The Cook Political Report in late March shifted its rating of the race to leans Republican, instead of a likely GOP victory.
Acton has no primary opponent. Ramaswamy is in a three-way primary for the GOP nomination.
This story has been updated to include additional information.
State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at [email protected] and @lbischoff on X.
