DEMOCRAT AMY ACTON, whose election campaign was attacked in a controversial ad by her Republican competitor, has won the race for Ohio governor, according to projections from The Associated Press.

The 60-year-old becomes the first elected female governor of Ohio, and the first Democrat to win the seat since 2016.

A medical doctor by profession, Acton was appointed by outgoing Republican Governor Mike DeWine as the director of Ohio’s Department of Health from 2019 to 2020 as Covid-19 broke out.

She has never served in public office.

Her Republican rival, billionaire biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, spent tens of millions of dollars of his own money on his campaign, which was backed by US President Donald Trump.

His most controversial piece of campaign material was an ad in which Acton’s estranged mother Donna Arthur criticised her daughter, calling Acton a liar and saying she was not fit for public office.

Arthur lost custody of Acton after her husband, Acton’s stepfather, was indicted for raping Acton in 1978.

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Democrats and Republicans were widely critical of the ad, including outgoing governor DeWine, although Ramaswamy was backed by Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

Acton focused her campaign on affordability issues, promising to fight for a working-families tax cut, lower health costs, and to tackle high energy costs.

Also in Ohio, Acton’s party colleague Sherrod Brown flipped another vital Senate seat for the Democrats in Ohio, the home of Vance. 

Brown defeated Republican Jon Husted, who has held the seat for the last two years since it was vacated by Vance.