Dr. Amy Acton, the Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, defeated her Republican opponent and is now neck-and-neck with Vivek Ramaswamy in the polls.
An Emerson College poll released this week found that 46% of respondents supported Acton and 45% supported Ramaswamy, The Hill reported. Another 9% were undecided. The survey has a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.
Acton, the former Ohio health secretary, saw that number rise 7 points in the college’s August poll, while 2024 presidential candidate Ramaswamy dropped 4 points.
Acton gained support among women surveyed, according to Emerson College. Support for Ramaswamy among women fell slightly in August, to 44% and 42% respectively. In the latest poll, women have turned to Acton, 56% to 37%. Men continue to support Ramaswamy, 55% to 35%, up from 54% in August.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton speaks during an election night rally for Democratic candidates at OTR Stillhouse, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Cincinnati.
Labor support: Unions back Amy Acton, pledge to fight Vivek Ramaswamy
DeWine says Amy Acton shouldn’t be blamed for Ohio’s COVID-19 response: ‘The buck stops with me’
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said Acton cannot be blamed for the state’s actions during the COVID-19 pandemic, NBC 4 reported. DeWine said these pandemic actions were his decision. “The responsibility rests with me.”
Acton served as Ohio’s health secretary during the coronavirus pandemic and attended daily lockdown briefings with DeWine in 2020. She resigned from this position in 2020. Her response to the pandemic has been praised but also met with protests.
Republicans are targeting Acton’s campaign, saying she is responsible for all lockdown decisions and that her choices are indifferent to personal freedoms, NBC 4 reported.
DeWine disputed that, saying all the decisions he made were in response to the coronavirus pandemic, not Acton.
“I got advice from her. I got advice from people all over the country,” DeWine said. “I try to get as much information as I can about some of the things that we don’t know much about and make decisions based on that, but those are my decisions. They’re not her decisions.”
Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at an Operation Turning Point event at Zimmer Hall at the University of Cincinnati on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025.
Split endorsement: Some Ohio unions split between Ramaswamy and Brown in gubernatorial and Senate races
Acton gets union support; others back Ramaswamy
Earlier this month, several large public employee unions endorsed Acton for governor in 2026.
The Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, Ohio Public School Employees Association, AFSCME Ohio Council 8 and AFSCME Retirees Chapter 1184 expressed their support for Acton at a Dec. 4 event. Together, these unions represent more than 100,000 Ohio workers.
Meanwhile, the Ohio Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters and the Midwest Regional Carpentry Council have also endorsed Ramaswamy. Both unions support DeWine over his Democratic opponent in the 2022 election.
Emerson College poll shows Jon Husted-Sherrod Brown in race for Senate austerity
In other races affecting Ohio, an Emerson College poll showed Republican Sen. Jon Husted leading Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown 49%-46% in a December poll. Another 5% are undecided.
Those numbers have tightened since August. Brown is up two points in the current poll, while Husted is down one point.
This article originally appeared in The Columbus Dispatch: Acton tied with Ramaswamy in Ohio gubernatorial race, according to new poll
