Vivek Ramaswamy’s Concession to Amy Acton Went to Voicemail - Newsweek

Vivek Ramaswamy says his call to Amy Acton went to voicemail when he contacted her to concede the Ohio governor's race, as Democrats scored a historic midterm victory Tuesday.

"We left her a message," Ramaswamy said, as he admitted "It's a tough night for us here in Ohio."

Tensions were high between the pair after the Republican put out a campaign ad last month which featured Acton's estranged mother calling her a liar.

With 81 percent of votes counted, Acton had garnered 50.7 percent of the vote, while Ramaswamy had 46 percent, when Ramaswamy conceded.

“Ohio has chosen unity and decency over division and hate, the healing begins today,” Acton told supporters in her victory speech.

Acton's victory sees Democrats take back control in Ohio for the first time in two decades. Her party won control of the U.S. Senate Tuesday night, as the party flipped key seats in Texas, Kansas, North Carolina and South Carolina, allowing the Democrats to secure control of both chambers of Congress in one of the most closely watched midterm elections in years.

The 60-year-old is the first woman to be elected to serve as Ohio's governor, and will end 16 years of Republican control in the Buckeye state.

“I wish her well to lead this state to hopefully greater heights in the future,” Ramaswamy said during his concession speech.

The former Republican presidential candidate said that it was a “tough race,” and that it was “bitter at times in both directions.”

The race had become one of the most expensive and contentious in the country.

The Ramaswamy campaign advert featured Acton’s mother Donna Arthur saying her daughter was lying about her childhood.

Acton’s mother lost custody of her after her husband, Acton’s stepfather, was indicted for raping Acton at the age of 12.

The backlash drew bipartisan condemnation, who urged Ramaswamy to remove the advert and apologize. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance backed the advert. The campaign was due to spend $4 million airing the ad, before it was discontinued.

Acton will now lead the state, which sits at the forefront of debates over the economy, AI data centers and the country’s political economy.

With 95 percent of the vote counted, Acton stretched her lead with 51.9 percent of the vote to Ramaswamy’s 44.8 percent, according to The Associated Press. Donald Kissick of the Libertarian Party won 3.3 percent of the vote.

“The time tomorrow is to hopefully have her leadership bring this state together, and I have hope and confidence that she will do what is required to bring Ohio together,” Ramaswamy said in his concession speech.

“We are rooting for the success of this state; we’re rooting for your success, and that means all of us in this room should be rooting for the success of her administration, and we’re hopeful for Ohio to achieve great things regardless of what happened tonight in this election," he added.

Acton is the first Democrat to win Ohio’s governorship since Ted Strickland won a single four-year term in 2006.

She will also be the first woman to fully serve in the role, following the Former Lt. Gov Nancy Hollister who served as governor for 11 days in 1999, after the Republican Governor George Voinovich moved to the Senate.

The win marks a shift for Ohio, which has moved decisively to the right since Strickland’s 2006 win, having backed Trump in three straight presidential elections by a comfortable margin.

Acton will succeed Republican Governor Mike DeWine, who she served under as health director in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is a developing story and will be updated.