Team: Acton setting gubernatorial fundraising records
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ohio’s next gubernatorial election is 21 months away but the candidates are already reaching out to voters.
Republican frontrunner Vivek Ramaswamy, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump, has already begun airing advertising.
The lone Democrat in the race so far, former Ohio Health Department Director Dr. Amy Acton, is shattering the first quarter fundraising record for Democrats.
Her team said that by the time the first quarter ends next Monday, she will have $600,000 in her campaign coffers, beating the previous record for a Democrat: former Gov. Ted Strickland raised $472,000 in 2009.
Acton’s team said it is a grassroots effort with more than 10,000 donors from all 88 of Ohio’s counties.
The figures raised by the three Republicans in the race – Ramaswamy, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, and Morgan County’s Heather Hill – have not yet been released. Campaign finance reports are due to the state by Monday; the state is expected to release them later in April.
Acton, a first-time candidate, served as health director under Gov. Mike DeWine during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement, Acton said, "I’m incredibly grateful to so many in Ohio who are embracing our movement and hungry for change.”
Ramaswamy, also promising change, hasn’t released his financial information for the governor’s race, but during his short 2024 presidential campaign, he raised more than $66 million.