COLUMBUS, Ohio — Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan said Friday that he has decided not to run for Ohio governor next year, eliminating the most significant hurdle to the nomination for former state health director Dr. Amy Acton.
Ryan, 52, had been considering a bid after fellow Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel, his former college football coach and mentor, opted out of the race. The 10-term ex-congressman was expected to capitalize on the strong statewide recognition he garnered in his losing Senate bid against now-Vice President JD Vance in 2022.
“After careful consideration, much prayer and reflection, and after long conversations with my family, my closest friends and advisers, I’ve made the decision not to run for governor in 2026,” Ryan said in a statement.
Ryan’s decision is good news for Acton, who served as Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s state health director during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though a political newcomer, Acton was widely expected to garner the backing of the state’s most powerful Democrat, former Sen. Sherrod Brown — which would have made Ryan’s road tougher.
The former congressman’s bid also might have been complicated by the work he has done in the private sector since he left the House. That has included lobbying for BPI Action, a bitcoin advocacy organization, and public relations for Natural Allies of Clean Energy, which seeks a place for natural gas alongside renewables in the response to climate change.
Acton, 59, has been traveling the state since launching her campaign in January. She made clear in responding to Ryan’s deferral that she will focus her message against GOP- and Trump-endorsed Republican Vivek Ramaswamy on the economy.
“While the special interests that run our state are doing just fine, they’ve made a mess for the rest of us, and I will not allow a billionaire Washington insider like Vivek Ramaswamy take us down an even worse path,” she said in a statement. “I’m running for governor because it’s time for a change. Together, we can lower costs, give Ohioans a little breathing room, and build the Ohio we all deserve.”
Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur and former co-chair of President Donald Trump’s DOGE initiative, consolidated Republican support quickly after launching his campaign in February. His success forced Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a veteran politician, out of the race and deterred a bid by DeWine’s hand-picked lieutenant governor, former Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Jim Tressel. DeWine helped clear his path by appointing the presumed front-runner, then-Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, to Vance’s vacant Senate seat.
“While the Democrats have spent months fighting to secure their shrinking base, Vivek has been talking to voters of all political persuasions to build an unprecedented coalition of support that includes conservative leaders and farmers to truckers and labor unions — and we’re just getting started,” campaign spokesperson Connie Luck said in a text.
As of August, Ramaswamy held a massive cash advantage over Acton, reporting $9.7 million raised to Acton’s $1.35 million.
He and Acton seek to succeed DeWine, 78, who is term-limited. He and Acton acted as a team during the opening salvo of the coronavirus pandemic, appearing side-by-side each day during widely viewed television briefings. Acton was often the face of the administration’s sometimes aggressive actions to protect against the disease, including cancellation of Ohio’s 2020 presidential primary and statewide closures of gyms and fitness centers that a judge later called “oppressive.”
Those actions alienated a portion of the Ohio electorate, while reassuring a wide swath of the public and winning praise from other states.
Ohio Democratic Chair Kathleen Clyde said the party is ready to work to elect Acton.
“As governor, I know that Amy Acton will fight for lower costs, clean up corruption in the Statehouse and give power back to the people by ending partisan gerrymandering once and for all,” she said in a statement.
