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Nov 3, 2026

Ohio — Governor

⭐ Gov. Mike DeWine is term-limited. Former state health director Amy Acton faces entrepreneur and 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Democrats last won the governorship in 2006. Get caught up ↓

Amy Acton
Amy Acton
Democrat · Age 60

Physician from Youngstown who led Ohio's health department through the early pandemic. Would be Ohio's first elected woman governor.

Campaign website →
Vivek Ramaswamy
Vivek Ramaswamy
Republican · Age 41

Cincinnati-born biotech billionaire and 2024 presidential candidate. Briefly co-led DOGE before launching this run with Trump's endorsement.

Campaign website →
Who's ahead? CookTOSS-UPSabatoTOSS-UPDDHQTOSS-UP
Ratings: Cook Political Report (Sept 10), Sabato’s Crystal Ball (Sept 22), Decision Desk HQ (Sept 12). Sources: Wikipedia (Cook, DDHQ) · 270toWin (Sabato)
Acton
48
Ramaswamy
45

Asked who they expect to win regardless of their own choice, 62% named Ramaswamy and 36% Acton.

Bowling Green State University / YouGov, Sept 1–10, 1,000 likely voters, ±3.96 → Sept 1–10

What's actually at stake

A governor isn't one vote among 100 — they run the state. Here's what the winner controls.

The budget
Proposes Ohio's two-year budget — where school funding, Medicaid, and property-tax relief all start.
The trifecta question
Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers. Ramaswamy would complete one-party control; Acton would be the only check on it.
Redistricting seat
The governor sits on the Ohio Redistricting Commission — a direct vote on the next round of maps.
Agencies & universities
Appoints agency heads and university trustees — and the two disagree sharply on higher ed's future.

Same crisis, opposite fixes

Both campaigns are about affordability. Their playbooks barely overlap:

ACTON'S PITCH
"People in this state are struggling. They are doing everything right." Cut costs directly — schools, prescriptions, utilities, Medicaid — plus a working-families tax cut.
RAMASWAMY'S PITCH
"Make Ohio the most affordable, opportunity-rich state in America." Cut costs by shrinking: income taxes toward zero, capped property taxes, more natural gas.
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Positions from campaign platforms, debate coverage, and news reports · 2025–26

Where they stand

The issues an Ohio governor actually decides. Tap one that matters to you.

ACTON SAYS
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RAMASWAMY SAYS
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Their big promises

ACTON'S TOP 3
Working Families Tax Cut
A state earned income credit and a child tax credit of up to $1,000 per child for families earning under $85,000.
Lower health-care costs
Ohio Rx drug-price platform, medical-debt relief on day one, and a crackdown on surprise billing.
Cut energy bills
Consumer-first utility regulators and restoring the efficiency programs cut by HB6.
RAMASWAMY'S TOP 3
Largest property-tax rollback ever
Return property taxes to pre-pandemic levels, then phase out the state income tax.
Data centers pay Ohioans first
Free electricity for nearby homes, no tax abatements, and a day-one pause on new projects.
Raise school standards
Focus on 3rd-grade reading, 8th-grade math and 12th-grade civics; pay top teachers more.
Money & campaign finance

On track to be the most expensive governor's race in Ohio history — so follow the money.

ACTON
RAMASWAMY
$10.6M Raised in 2026 (campaigns, through June) $10.3M
Ramaswamy: put $25M of his own money into the race — a state record — on top of an allied super PAC with $29M+, including $10M from Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass FLAG
Ramaswamy: pays $500K+ in campaign funds to lease a private jet from a company he owns himself FLAG
Where the money comes from: Acton's average donation is $24, with 58% of contributions from Ohioans — vs. 16% of Ramaswamy's CONTEXT

The money story is lopsided by design: Acton runs a small-dollar campaign; Ramaswamy a largely self-funded one. Decide which you prefer. — Ohio campaign finance filings, 2025–26

Their stories

AMY ACTON
1966Born in Youngstown; survived a turbulent childhood that included periods of homelessness.
1990sBecame a physician; spent decades in public health and taught at Ohio State.
2019Appointed state health director by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.
2020Became the face of Ohio's COVID briefings; resigned after armed protests outside her home.
2026Won the Democratic nomination unopposed after Sherrod Brown and Tim Ryan passed on the race.
VIVEK RAMASWAMY
1985Born in Cincinnati to immigrants from Kerala, India; Harvard, then Yale Law.
2014Founded biotech firm Roivant Sciences at 29; became a billionaire.
2022Launched Strive, an "anti-woke" asset manager, after years fighting ESG investing.
2023Ran for president; dropped out after Iowa and endorsed Trump.
2025Left DOGE on inauguration day; launched this run with Trump's "complete and total endorsement."

The backstory

Ohio was supposed to be safe Republican territory: Trump won it by 11 in 2024, and no Democrat has won the governorship since 2006. But term-limited Mike DeWine leaves an open seat, and the race has tightened to a coin flip — largely because women voters have swung hard toward Acton while men stay with Ramaswamy.

The attack lines write themselves. Republicans call Acton "Dr. Lockdown" for the 2020 school and business closures she signed — though DeWine, who endorsed Ramaswamy, says those calls "were made by the governor." Acton casts Ramaswamy as a billionaire trying to buy the state — "No, Mr. Ramaswamy, you cannot buy Ohio" — and his idea of shutting "subpar" universities like Akron and Kent State is her favorite target.

The stakes are structural: Republicans hold supermajorities in the legislature, so a Ramaswamy win completes one-party control, while Acton would be the lone check on it. With $50M+ already raised and a $25M attack-ad blitz underway, this is on track to be the most expensive governor's race in Ohio history.

Sources

  1. Amy Acton — Affordability Plan · campaign website, updated Aug 21, 2026
  2. Amy Acton — On the Issues · campaign website, accessed Sept 28, 2026
  3. Vivek for Ohio — The Plan · campaign website, incl. data-center pledge (Aug 6, 2026)
  4. Vivek for Ohio — Property tax rollback plan · campaign website
  5. Where the candidates stand on education · Ohio Capital Journal, Sept 11, 2026
  6. Ramaswamy expands on property tax, data center plans · Statehouse News Bureau, Sept 4, 2026
  7. 2026 United States gubernatorial elections · Wikipedia (race ratings)
Positions summarized from the candidates’ campaign websites · September 2026
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