FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 15, 2026
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Cleveland.com Fact Check: 4 Lies in Ad Attacking Dr. Acton
COLUMBUS, OH– Yesterday, Cleveland.com called out the Right Direction PAC for airing an attack ad “questioning” the “conduct and leadership” of Dr. Amy Acton. Fact-checkers found four instances of this ad airing “claims that are unsupported by the facts.”
READ: Fact check: 4 lies in Right Direction PAC’s ad questioning Amy Acton’s conduct and leadership
A political action committee backing Republicans is airing an attack ad portraying Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton as having a substance-abuse problem and questioning her performance as Ohio’s health director during the coronavirus pandemic.
The ad by Right Direction PAC has four claims that are unsupported by the facts.
1. “You know Amy Acton: the drinking, the drugs.”
- The ad refers to a 2019 police report involving a dispute between Acton and her husband. While the report noted that Acton had been drinking and had taken an unknown amount of prescription medication, it did not say she was intoxicated or abusing drugs. Her campaign has since said she had one glass of wine and was taking migraine medication.
- The ad turns a single incident into an allegation of a broader substance-abuse problem that the evidence does not establish.
2. “She curled up into a ball on the floor during an emergency response meeting.”
- According to an article cited in the ad, an unnamed former state employee found Acton huddled on a hallway floor before an emergency meeting. The ad rewrites the alleged incident and asserts it took place during the meeting.
3. “Amy Acton failed when Ohio needed her most.”
- The ad uses the previous allegation to imply Acton broke down when state officials needed her during a moment of crisis, although the cited story clearly states she went into the meeting.
- That does not establish that she failed to perform her duties. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine later praised her work during the pandemic, saying he believed “many, many lives” were saved because of her advice and work.
4. “Ohio’s governor manages the National Guard, our schools and a 60-billion-dollar budget.”
- The governor is commander-in-chief of the Ohio National Guard and has substantial authority over education and budgeting, but does not directly manage all three.
- State law gives local school boards “management and control” of their public schools, while the General Assembly appropriates state money. The governor proposes the state budget and can veto individual appropriations.
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