Amy Acton Refuses to Return Vivek Ramaswamy's Concession Call After Campaign Ad Featuring Her Estranged Mother

Ohio's next governor, Democrat Amy Acton, has not returned Vivek Ramaswamy's call to concede. 'And there are no plans to,' a person on her team told The Washington Post on Wednesday. The snub follows a race Newsweek described as one of the country's most contentious, during which Ramaswamy ran an advert starring Acton's estranged mother.

Acton won by more than 360,000 votes in the Associated Press count, roughly 52% to 44%. She is Ohio's first elected woman governor and its first Democrat to win since Ted Strickland in 2006. NBC News projected that Democrats would win control of both chambers of Congress. Concession calls are an old courtesy in US politics.

What Happened on Election Night

Ramaswamy rang Acton at around 11pm on Tuesday, before addressing the crowd in Columbus. Nobody picked up, though Decision Desk HQ had already called the race at 10:30pm. 'We left her a message,' he told the room, adding that he wished her well as she leads the state. By Wednesday evening, they still had not spoken, the Post reported, sharing Acton's reply in the X post below.

Acton struck a different note in her speech later that night. 'Ohio has chosen unity and decency over division and hate,' she told the crowd. The pair never debated, and Ramaswamy's campaign accused Acton of refusing to take part. Her win ends 16 years of Republican rule in the governor's office, which Mike DeWine has held since 2019. David Pepper, who ran alongside her, will serve as lieutenant governor.

The Ad at the Centre of the Row

Ramaswamy's team released a spot in which Donna Arthur, Acton's mother, calls her daughter a liar. Officials removed Acton from her mother's care when she was 12, after a grand jury indicted her stepfather on a charge of raping her. His campaign planned to spend $4 million (about £3 million) airing it. He pulled it in late October, without an apology. He had said Acton 'only ever talks about something that happened to her'. Acton has said her story might give others hope.

His spokesperson, Connie Luck, had called Acton 'a serial fabulist' who struggled with the truth. Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance stood by the advert, while critics in both parties attacked it. Vance replied that politics is a tough business. DeWine still backed Ramaswamy. But the Republican governor said the advert was deeply troubling and asked him to take it down. Nikki Haley, Ramaswamy's 2024 presidential rival, called him a bad guy.

What Comes Next for Ohio

Acton, 60, became well known as Ohio's health chief at the state's daily COVID briefings, and takes office on January 11, 2027. In his concession speech, Ramaswamy called the race 'bitter at times in both directions' but said he hoped she could bring the state together.

Addie Bullock, a campaign spokesperson for Acton, had said after he pulled the spot that it 'should never have run'. Former Trump White House aide Sarah Matthews said on X that, in this case, Acton had every right to let the call ring out.