First posted on Instagram · @profilopolitics
Vivek Ramaswamy used his spotlight at Youngstown's Covelli Centre on Monday to prosecute the record of the woman standing between him and the Ohio governor's office: Dr. Amy Acton, the state health director whose COVID orders closed Ohio's schools and businesses in 2020 — and who now wants a promotion.
“I will be the most conservative governor of this state has ever seen in our history, because we deserve it.”
Ramaswamy's argument is simple: the official who shut down Ohio should not be rewarded for it. Acton signed the orders, and Ohioans lived with them — shuttered classrooms, locked factories, families kept from dying relatives. He also taunted her for dodging a showdown: “The woman I'm running against actually refuses to show up for a debate with me.”
He wrapped the attack in his broader pitch — the proud son of legal immigrants who insists “your first act of entering this country cannot break the law,” a promise to end sanctuary cities in the state of Ohio, lower property taxes and energy bills, and, in his words, “back the blue, lock up the criminals, prosecute the fraudsters.”
President Trump, who headlined the rally, sharpened the attack himself. Acton is “a total lunatic named Amy Acton, who shut down Ohio schools during Covid, locked up your factories and your businesses,” Trump said, claiming “she wants to take away your guns.” He called Ramaswamy “my very good friend” and urged Ohioans to send both Ramaswamy and Sen. Jon Husted to victory.
Acton's campaign answers that she is proud of the pandemic work. “Dr. Acton is proud of the work she did alongside Governor DeWine to put public health over politics, save lives and keep Ohioans safe,” spokeswoman Addie Bullock said. “It is unfortunate that Vivek Ramaswamy wants to play politics on this issue.” DeWine himself has said the closure decisions were his.
The seat is open — DeWine is term-limited — and Ohio votes on November 3. A win would make Ramaswamy the third Indian-American governor in U.S. history. His bet is the whole campaign: Ohio lived under Acton's orders once, and voters have not forgotten.
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