By Rev. Donald L. Perryman, Ph.D.
The Truth Contributor
The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. We must think anew, and act anew. – Abraham Lincoln
The ground has begun to shift beneath voters’ feet in Ohio politics, and the tremors are already being felt.
For years, the state’s eroding political landscape has been marked by the same old familiar names, tired formulas, and predictable results. However, the growing intensity of Dr. Amy Acton’s 2026 gubernatorial campaign suggests a potential forthcoming aftershock that could unseat the crumbling old order and thus shift the political terrain.
Acton became a household name in the early days of the pandemic, when she served as state health director under Gov. Mike DeWine. Even as her lockdown policies stirred fierce opposition among some, her daily briefings were marked by clarity and empathy, which earned her trust across party lines. That paradox garnered her both admiration and attack, but it also left her as one of the most recognizable and respected figures in Ohio.
Acton brings not only a fresh face but also arrives without “the baggage” of the Democratic old guard. “She’s not another Tim Ryan, who’s lost his race, turned lobbyist, and is trying to get back into the only game he knows in a desperate attempt to remain relevant,” supporters say.
Instead, Acton stands apart as fresh, credible and unburdened. At the same time, the Party around her “continues to cling to a crumbling playbook that has left them teetering in statewide contests.”
Meanwhile, her likely Republican opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, is already showing cracks. Although the handpicked Trump gubernatorial candidate leads Ryan by double digits, Ramaswamy finds himself locked in a dead heat with Acton, according to recent polling.
Even within Republican circles, Ramaswamy’s candidacy feels “imposed rather than earned.” “He’s brash, he’s loud and he’s not deeply rooted in Ohio,” whisper many GOP voters who are not buying the Ramaswamy candidacy. Those kinds of “hands covering the mouth” complaints leave space for someone like Acton to expose the brittle foundation beneath his campaign.
One factor fueling Acton’s growing bipartisan support is her determination to do the unglamorous work — the kind that often goes unnoticed until the tremors are felt. She’s “beating the bushes, spending time building bridges in red areas like Shelby and Defiance County and towns like Wauseon, developing relationships where Democrats seldom venture and reaching people who may not agree with her on every policy but who remember her steady, trustworthy pandemic leadership.”
Most notably, Acton’s candidacy also forces Democrats to confront their own reluctance to evolve. Too often, women candidates are expected to do the difficult groundwork, only to be told to step aside when a man decides to enter the race. But the ground has shifted. Voters are no longer satisfied with recycled names and empty promises. They are open to something different, and Acton embodies that difference.
Ohio politics has been hardened ground for Democrats in recent years. Yet, as scholar Walter Fluker reminds us, “the ground has shifted.” When the foundations move, the aftershocks can be unsettling — but they can also clear the way for something new to rise.
Amy Acton may not be the typical candidate. She isn’t. She is fresher, tougher, and unburdened by the old formulas that have left her Party shaky and struggling to stand. She has been working for the past year, quietly building new bridges. That is exactly why her candidacy feels less like a ripple and more like the beginning of a quake.
Ohio should brace itself. The ground is moving.
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, PhD, at drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org