Democrat Amy Acton defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio's governor's race on Tuesday, Nov. 3, according to the New Republic. It is the first Democratic victory in an Ohio governor's race in 20 years. Acton also becomes Ohio’s first woman elected governor, according to the Associated Press.

Hilliard voters were among those across Franklin County who cast ballots in the race. Polls closed statewide at 7:30 p.m.

Acton, 60, a physician who served as Ohio's public health director during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, led Ramaswamy by about 4.1 percentage points in returns reported at 10:34 p.m., American Bazaar reported. With 79.5% of the expected vote counted at that point, Acton held 1,900,498 votes (50.4%) to Ramaswamy's 1,746,119 (46.3%). Libertarian candidate Don Kissick had 126,561 votes (3.4%).

Those results are unofficial. The Ohio Secretary of State will certify results approximately three weeks after the election.

What the outcome means for Ohio

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, described by cleveland.com as a former state health director from suburban Columbus, selected David Pepper as her running mate. Ramaswamy, 41, a Cincinnati native and biotech entrepreneur who had never held public office, ran with Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, WLWT reported.

A bitter and expensive 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 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.

Cost of living was a central issue. After meeting with early voters at the Franklin County Board of Elections, Acton said she heard the same concern everywhere, Fox 8 reported.

Unofficial results will be updated through the Ohio Secretary of State's live results page at LiveResults.OhioSoS.gov.