Democrat Amy Acton defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio's governor's race on Nov. 3, becoming the first Democrat elected to the office in 20 years, the Ohio Capital Journal reported. The Associated Press called the race at 10:49 p.m.

Acton, 60, a physician who served as Ohio's public health director during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, is also the first woman elected governor in state history. She cast her ballot Nov. 3 in Bexley, according to the Ohio Capital Journal.

Results snapshot

With 85% of votes counted as of 10:45 p.m. Nov. 3, Acton led Ramaswamy 50.7% to 46%, Signal Ohio reported. The AP declared Acton the winner based on its analysis that not enough Republican votes remained to change the outcome.

The most detailed vote totals available came from Spectrum’s AP-based results at 10:48 a.m. on Nov. 4

Candidate

Party

Votes

Pct.

Amy Acton

Democrat

2,404,178

52.3%

Vivek Ramaswamy

Republican

2,039,730

44.4%

Don Kissick

Libertarian

151,914

3.3%

These results are unofficial. The Ohio Secretary of State is expected to certify the official canvass approximately three weeks after the election.

What the win means

No Democrat had won Ohio's governor's race since 2006, the Associated Press reported. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine could not run again because of term limits. Both President Donald Trump and DeWine had endorsed Ramaswamy, according to PBS NewsHour.

Trump carried Ohio by more than 11 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election, American Bazaar reported. Acton will face a Republican-controlled legislature, the Ohio Capital Journal noted.

Acton selected David Pepper as her running mate for lieutenant governor. Ramaswamy, 41, a Cincinnati native and biotech entrepreneur who had never held public office, ran with Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, according to WLWT.

Franklin County, home to New Albany and Gahanna, has been a major source of Democratic votes statewide. In 2024, Democrats drew large margins from Franklin, Cuyahoga and Hamilton counties, NBC4 reported.

A bitter campaign

The race drew national attention after Ramaswamy's campaign released an ad featuring Acton's estranged mother. Acton was removed from her mother's custody at age 12 after her stepfather was indicted for raping her, PBS NewsHour reported. DeWine called for the ad to be taken down, and the campaign stopped airing it, American Bazaar reported.

More than $149 million had been spent or reserved for TV and radio advertising, with about three-quarters of that on behalf of Ramaswamy, cleveland.com reported. Ramaswamy personally loaned his campaign more than $40 million, according to cleveland.com.

Ramaswamy said he called Acton to congratulate her, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. "It was a tough race. It was bitter, at times, in both directions," Ramaswamy told reporters at a GOP election event in Columbus, according to the Beacon Journal.

Acton's four-year term runs from January 2027 through January 2031, the Columbus Jewish News reported.