Democrat Amy Acton defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio's governor's race on Tuesday, Nov. 3, the New Republic reported. She becomes the first Democrat elected governor since 2006.

Both candidates live in the greater Columbus region, according to 10TV. Acton, 60, a physician and former state health director from suburban Columbus, led Ramaswamy by about 4.1 percentage points in returns reported at 10:34 p.m., the New Republic reported.

As of that time, with 79.5% of the expected vote counted, Acton held 1,900,498 votes (50.4%) to Ramaswamy's 1,746,119 (46.3%), American Bazaar reported. Libertarian candidate Don Kissick had 126,561 votes (3.4%).

Candidate

Party

Votes

Percentage

Amy Acton

D

1,900,498

50.4%

Vivek Ramaswamy

R

1,746,119

46.3%

Don Kissick

L

126,561

3.4%

Source: American Bazaar, citing NBC News/AP data, as of 10:34 p.m. ET on Nov. 3. Results are unofficial. The Ohio Secretary of State will certify results approximately three weeks after the election.

What the result 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, PBS NewsHour reported.

Trump carried Ohio by more than 11 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election, American Bazaar reported. A Marist Poll conducted Oct. 15 through Oct. 18 had shown Acton leading Ramaswamy 50% to 43% among likely voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

Acton served as Ohio's public health director during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. She selected David Pepper as her running mate, while Ramaswamy ran with Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, WLWT reported.

A costly, 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 in TV and radio ad spending was spent or reserved in the race as of Nov. 2, 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, 41, a Cincinnati native and biotech entrepreneur, had never held elected office. Neither had Acton, cleveland.com reported.

Local ballot items

Upper Arlington voters also weighed in on Issue 7 on the Nov. 3 ballot. The $273.5 million bond issue would fund the second phase of the Upper Arlington City Schools master plan, according to 10TV. For a homeowner with a property valued at $500,000, the bond would mean an annual property tax increase of about $1,250, or roughly $105 per month, according to district data cited by 10TV.

Unofficial results will be updated through the Ohio Secretary of State's live results page at LiveResults.OhioSoS.gov. The official canvass is expected approximately three weeks after the election.