A 2019 police call to the home of Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton during what officers described as a domestic dispute is casting a shadow over her campaign as the race intensifies.
According to The Daily Signal, NBC News reported that the states former health director shattered a mirror pulled from the wall during a verbal argument with her husband. Acton, then leading the Ohio Department of Health, acknowledged to Bexley, Ohio, police that she had been drinking, and the report said the dispute centered on her extended work hours with no evidence of physical violence.
The episode has become a flashpoint in Ohio political circles as Acton seeks the governors office. Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou told The Daily Signal it is an issue that will be in the minds of the voters.
National conservatives have taken notice as well, with Donald Trump Jr. labeling Acton on X a Leftwing psychopath. Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy reposted Trumps remark, as did his running mate, state Sen. Rob McColley, underscoring how the incident has energized the GOP base.
NBC News reported that Actons campaign disputed and sought to clarify several elements of the police report, stressing she had only one drink at dinner. The campaign further asserted that during the incident Acton merely bumped into a wall hanging which fell.
ABC News 5 interviewed Actons running mate, David Pepper, who dismissed the uproar as sort of a desperate attempt to try and tear Amy Acton down. Pepper downplayed the matter as a simple argument, framing it as a private marital dispute.
Crisis communications consultant Matt Dole told The Daily Signal that Actons team has mounted a brutally bad crisis communications response. He criticized the lack of direct transparency from Acton herself, noting that Pepper is the one responding publicly.
The first rule of crisis communications is to be transparent, because the cover-up becomes worse than the original crime, Dole said. He added that he would have urged Acton to disclose the episode when she launched her campaign so that when it came out, it wouldnt have been a big deal.
Gov. Mike DeWine, under whom Acton served as health director, was reportedly blindsided by the revelation. Governor DeWine was unaware of both the 2019 incident and associated police report involving Dr. Acton, spokesman Dan Tierney said, adding that DeWine would have expected Dr. Acton to have at that time promptly disclosed this to him, and he is very disappointed that it did not occur.
DeWine later told ABC News 5, I dont know what happened. I was not there. The only thing that I have said is that I wish she had reported that to us, just the police coming to a house, whatever the facts are.
Pepper argued there was no obligation to inform the governor about the dispute. I think most people, when they have a private personal argument with their spouse, arent necessarily telling their boss about that, he said.
Dole countered that Actons silence has turned the matter into a political liability, saying that in not disclosing it, she has now made it an issue in this campaign. If she had disclosed it to DeWine or disclosed it on the day she announced, it would not be an issue in the campaign, he predicted.
The Acton campaign has not responded to The Daily Signals request for comment, leaving key questions about judgment and transparency unanswered. Triantafilou told The Daily Signal that Acton should have informed DeWine and warned that Ohioans should be very alarmed she did not.
The question is, what else is she hiding from Ohioans at this point, Triantafilou added, arguing that voters deserve full disclosure from anyone seeking the states highest office. We think weve got a far better candidate in Vivek Ramaswamy, he said, praising a contender he described as working extraordinarily hard and very well-funded who is ready to lead Ohio.
Dole said the episode and its handling reveal a deeper problem with Actons candidacy, remarking, All of this points to what we know of Amy Acton. She is not a politician, and she is not ready for prime time.
Login