FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 24, 2026
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Toledo Blade: Acton delivers moderate message on campaign trail as election nears
TOLEDO, OH– Yesterday, the Toledo Blade published a story highlighting Dr. Amy Acton’s “genuinely bipartisan” credentials from her work alongside Republican Governor Mike DeWine, her “common sense” approach, and her focus on “the cost of living, housing, electric bills, property taxes, education, and child care.”
The story includes comments from Mark Pukita, a prominent Ohio Republican, who described Dr. Acton’s approach as “brilliant,” and Ohio Chamber of Commerce President Steve Stivers, who called it a “breath of fresh air.” The Chamber of Commerce endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy.
READ: Acton delivers moderate message on campaign trail as election nears
- Most Ohio voters are tired of elected officials focusing on divisive issues that don’t affect their day-to-day lives, according to Dr. Amy Acton.
- The Democratic gubernatorial candidate said her top priority on the campaign trail has been listening to voters in all parts of the state.
- “I’ve been on the road for about 2½ years, and I’ve been going places that, quite frankly, Dems haven’t been in a while,” Dr. Acton said in an interview. “I will tell you that almost 99 percent of what I hear from Ohioans … nobody would disagree on.”
- Those issues include the cost of living, housing, electric bills, property taxes, education, and child care, she said.
- “It’s the stuff of everyday life,” Dr. Acton said. “They wish they had public servants who actually solved those problems instead of always pitting us against one another with hate, chaos, and vitriol. … What they really want is for us to get in there and get to work.”
- Dr. Acton said she understands there are difficult issues that may not have easy answers.
- “Governors have to be there for all people. You have to use common sense. You try to find the issues of common purpose,” she said. “People are working harder than they ever have. They’ve done everything right … the math just doesn’t add up. The immediate, urgent concerns are the ones I’m fighting for.”
- …Ohio Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Steve Stivers said Dr. Acton’s approach is a “breath of fresh air.”
- “I think she has looked back at the last few elections and is trying to be responsive to where she thinks the Ohio voters are,” Mr. Stivers said. “And I’m not saying she’s not being authentically her either, because she did serve in a Republican administration. Clearly, she’s just not being dogmatic about her statements and positions.”
- Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said he worked with Dr. Acton extensively during the pandemic, and he’s not surprised by her positions because she is genuinely moderate, he said.
- “This is just who she is. It’s really not campaign strategy,” Mr. Kapszukiewicz said. “She is not a politician. … She takes those stands because that’s what she believes. History can judge whether she’s right or wrong, but it’s not an act. She is authentic.”
- Mark Pukita, founder of Ohio Common Ground and a former Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in 2022, described Dr. Acton’s position on Issue 3 as “brilliant.”
- Dr. Acton is best known for serving as director of the Ohio Department of Health under Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, so voters have reason to believe she is genuinely bipartisan, the mayor said.
- “They remember her as the person standing up with the state’s top elected Republican trying to get through this health crisis,” Mr. Kapszukiewicz said, noting he appreciated Mr. DeWine’s approach to the pandemic.
- [Governor Mike DeWine] has consistently defended Dr. Acton against some of the attacks against her, including criticisms about her leadership during the pandemic and allegations that she has a problem with alcohol.
- Dr. Acton said she is proud of the DeWine administration’s accomplishments during her time as state health director, pointing to efforts to address the opioid epidemic, housing, and tobacco use.
- “It was an honor to work with Gov. Mike DeWine, especially during one of the hardest times we’ve gone through in Ohio’s history,” she said.
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