Dr. Amy Acton, the controversial state health director who stood side-by-side with Republican Gov. Mike DeWine during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, is running to succeed her old boss.
However, she is running for governor in 2026 as a Democrat.
“Today, I filed papers to run for Governor because I refuse to look away from Ohioans who are struggling while self-serving politicians and special interests take our state in the wrong direction,” said in a statement. “It’s time to give power back to the people and our communities. It’s time for a change.”
Acton told the Associated Press that she thinks Ohio Republicans spend too much time fighting culture wars, which is pulling the state in the wrong direction.
“I feel like I have a bond with Ohioans and a connection,” she told the news wire. “You don’t go through what we’ve been through — trying to save 11.7 million people the way we did — and not have some special connection.”
While some commended Acton for her efforts amid the pandemic, she drew the ire of many Ohioans amid the COVID-19 pandemic, who viewed her actions as heavy-handed. She was the target of lawsuits filed by business owners who opposed the state’s sometimes onerous restrictions, including shuttering businesses considered “non-essential.”
At one point, protestors gathered outside her Columbus-area house to express their frustration, and Ohio lawmakers filed legislation to reduce the ODH director’s power to issue orders. Lawmakers also pushed a provision to give state lawmakers oversight of pandemic orders.
But it wasn’t just Republicans who were upset with Acton.
In March 2020, DeWine requested that the state move the primary to June 2 because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Acton, who DeWine appointed as director of the Ohio Department of Health in 2019, ordered polls to close, citing the health emergency.
The action prompted the Democratic Party to file a writ of prohibition with the Ohio Supreme Court.
The 2026 gubernatorial election is poised to be a crowded field.
On the Democratic side, former state Rep. Chris Redfern, a former chair of the Ohio Democratic Party, and Ohio House of Representatives Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, are potential candidates.
Additionally, former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who defeated DeWine in 2006 and lost his seat to Republican Bernie Moreno in November, has been touted as a possible candidate. Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan’s name has also been bandied about as a possible candidate.
On the Republican side, former Morgan County School Board President Heather Hill and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who previously served as state auditor, have announced their candidacies. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Lt. Governor Jon Husted, who previously served as secretary of state, are on the list of potential candidates.
Last January, DeWine, who was elected as governor in 2018, praised the state’s second in command. “Jon Husted will be a great governor,” The Columbus Dispatch quoted DeWine as saying in January 2024.
However, the gubernatorial field could change depending on who DeWine selects to replace Vice President-elect JD Vance in the U.S. Senate. A recent poll found Frank LaRose topped a crowded field of possibilities to fill the soon-to-be-vacant seat.
The Buckeye State has turned reliably Republican in recent years. The GOP controls all three branches of government, and Ohio voters have consistently voted for the Republican presidential nominee in recent elections.
Former Gov. Ted Strickland is the last Democrat to win election as the state’s governor, winning election in 2006. He lost to John Kasich, elected to the state's top post in 2010 and re-elected in 2014.
