Amy Acton Sends Vivek Ramaswamy to Voicemail After He 'Stooped to Such a Despicable Low' in Ohio Race

Vivek Ramaswamy has said Amy Acton sent his concession call to voicemail after she defeated him in Ohio's gubernatorial race on Tuesday.

The Democrat's victory ends 16 years of Republican control of the governor's office and makes her the first woman elected to lead the state.

'We left her a message,' Ramaswamy told supporters during his election-night speech, according to Newsweek. 'It's a tough night for us here in Ohio.'

Acton entered the contest as a physician and former Ohio health director, while Ramaswamy, a Republican and former presidential contender, had the backing of President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance.

The race became one of the most expensive and bitter in the country, with the two candidates never meeting for a debate.

Acton led with 51.9 per cent of the vote to Ramaswamy's 44.8 per cent with 95 per cent of ballots counted, according to The Associated Press. Libertarian Donald Kissick received 3.3 per cent.

A Historic Win for Amy Acton

Acton's win is a striking reversal in a state that has moved firmly to the right in recent years. Ohio backed Trump in three consecutive presidential elections, and he carried it by 11 points in 2024.

She becomes the first Democrat to win the Ohio governorship since Ted Strickland in 2006. Acton will succeed Republican Mike DeWine when she takes office in January 2027.

The result also carries a broader political meaning. Democrats flipped key Senate seats in Texas, Kansas, North Carolina and South Carolina in Tuesday's midterms, securing control of both chambers of Congress.

Acton, 60, ran on lowering living costs, making healthcare more affordable, strengthening public education and workers' rights, addressing energy bills, improving government accountability and protecting reproductive rights.

In her victory speech, she described a personal journey from abuse and homelessness to medicine and, now, the governor's office. 'I know what it's like when people look the other way when you're struggling,' Acton said.

She also promised to govern beyond party lines. 'I will be a governor for all Ohioans,' she said. 'To those who voted for me, and those who did not, I will work with anyone and everyone.'

The Ad That Defined the Ohio Race

The concession call was a small moment in a campaign already scarred by a far more explosive dispute. Ramaswamy's campaign aired an advert featuring Acton's estranged mother, Donna Arthur, calling her daughter a liar about her childhood.

The advertisement brought renewed attention to Acton's account of being sexually abused as a child by her mother's husband. Court records reviewed by PolitiFact show that Cledith Arthur was indicted in 1978 on a charge of raping a 12-year-old girl.

He pleaded not guilty but later failed to appear in court and did not stand trial. Acton and her brother were subsequently removed from their mother's custody.

The campaign was due to spend $4 million (€3.4 million and £2.8 million) airing the advert before it was discontinued. It drew bipartisan criticism, with DeWine calling it 'deeply, deeply troubling' and urging Ramaswamy to take it down.

Acton's brother, Philip Stearns, was blunt about the Republican's decision to use the material. 'It's not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at 12 years old from our birth mother's husband into a political talking point,' he said.

Acton addressed the advert at a Cleveland rally on 24 October, alongside former President Barack Obama. 'My opponent has chosen to exploit, intentionally, my childhood to save his struggling campaign, but it's not going to work,' she said.

What Happens Next in Ohio

Ramaswamy did concede publicly, despite the awkward voicemail. He wished Acton well and said he hoped her leadership would 'bring this state together'.

'We are rooting for the success of this state,' he added. 'We're rooting for your success, and that means all of us in this room should be rooting for the success of her administration.'

Whether that goodwill lasts is another matter. The campaign left deep wounds, and Acton will take office with a mandate shaped as much by revulsion at the final weeks of the race as by enthusiasm for her agenda.

Acton told supporters that 'Ohio has chosen unity and decency over division and hate', adding that 'the healing begins today'. For now, she has the result. Ramaswamy has the voicemail.