Amy Acton wants Ohioans to forget what she did to them.
As Ohio's Health Director, Acton made up COVID data to justify unconstitutional lockdowns, banned families from saying goodbye to dying loved ones in nursing homes, and shut down Ohio's schools and small businesses with orders a court ruled "arbitrary, unreasonable, and oppressive."
Then she quit.
Now she wants to be your Governor.
She made up the data
In March 2020, with just five confirmed COVID cases in all of Ohio, Amy Acton stood at a podium and told Ohioans that 100,000 people were already infected — using that alarming number to justify locking down businesses and closing schools. When pressed, Acton admitted she had no data to support the claim, saying she was simply "guesstimating." 1 Million Jobs were lost as a direct result of Acton's unfounded claims and reckless orders.
(The Hill, 3/13/20; Fox News, 3/12/20)
As nursing home deaths mounted, Amy Acton initially refused to release data on how many Ohioans were dying in long-term care facilities, citing public records laws and instructing county agencies to do the same. Ohio families were locked out of nursing homes and simultaneously denied information about what was happening to their loved ones inside.
(WCBE 90.5 FM; News 5 Cleveland, 2020)
When Acton's COVID lockdown orders were legally challenged, she failed to provide statutory authority for the sweeping closures she had ordered. A Lake County judge found that her department's actions lacked any procedural safeguards or legal basis whatsoever.
(Lake County Court of Common Pleas, May 2020)
Now running for Governor, Acton has refused to answer questions about her COVID orders. Her gubernatorial campaign did not respond to press inquiries asking her to account for those decisions.
(Ohio.news, 2025)
SHe Violated Ohioans' Rights and Hurt Ohio Families
Amy Acton issued the order shutting down Ohio businesses — including gyms, restaurants, and small shops — with no statutory authority to do so. Lake County Court of Common Pleas Judge Eugene Lucci ruled that Acton "acted in an impermissibly arbitrary, unreasonable, and oppressive manner" and that her orders violated the Ohio Constitution.
(Lake County Court of Common Pleas, Judge Eugene Lucci, May 2020; Reason.com, 5/20/20)
Amy Acton signed the order banning Ohio families from visiting loved ones in nursing homes. Mothers could not see their children. Spouses could not hold each other's hands. Grandparents died alone — while Acton's visitor ban was in effect, over 70% of Ohio's COVID-19 deaths occurred inside nursing homes. Under Amy Acton's leadership, Ohio had the highest elderly death rate in the entire Midwest.
(CDC National Center for Health Statistics, 2023; WKYC 3News Investigates, 2020; ABC6 On Your Side, 2020)
Under Amy Acton's direction, Ohio became the first state in the nation to close its public schools in March 2020. Studies subsequently found that school closures caused significant harm to children's mental health, including spikes in anxiety, depression, and learning loss — damage that Ohio kids are still recovering from.
(JAMA Network Open, 2021; Daily Caller, 7/3/25)
A second Ohio judge also struck down Acton's lockdown orders as illegal, finding they exceeded the legal authority of the state health director. Multiple courts confirmed: Amy Acton's COVID orders were not just harmful — they were unlawful.
(Reason.com, 6/12/20)
She Quit - And Now She Wants a Promotion
In June 2020, with Ohioans still reeling from her lockdowns, courts striking down her orders as unconstitutional, and state legislators demanding accountability, Amy Acton resigned as Ohio Health Director. She did not stay to fix the damage she caused. She did not see it through.
(ABC News, 6/11/20)
After resigning in disgrace, Acton admitted that she quit over the re-opening of Ohio's fairs that she had shut down, and being asked to allow county fairs was "the final straw."
(NBC 4, 1/30/2025)
Acton's lockdown record prompted a sitting Ohio Republican lawmaker to introduce legislation specifically limiting the health director's authority — a direct response to what legislators viewed as her unchecked, unaccountable use of power.
(NBC News, 2020)
Despite her record of making up data, issuing unconstitutional orders, locking families out of nursing homes, closing Ohio schools, and quitting midway through the crisis she created, Amy Acton is now asking Ohioans to give her more power as Governor of Ohio. She couldn't handle Health Director. Ohio can't afford to find out what she'd do as Governor.
She guessed at the data. She issued unconstitutional orders. She banned families from nursing homes. She closed Ohio's schools. And when accountability came — she walked out.
Ohio deserves a Governor who tells the truth, follows the Constitution, and doesn't quit.
Paid for by Vivek Ramaswamy and Rob McColley for Ohio
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