CLEVELAND – When Senator Rob Portman announced his retirement this week, almost every ambitious politician in Ohio, from mayors to other members of Congress, began to imagine himself occupying the first open seat in the Senate in more than a decade.
The most intense speculation landed first on Congressman Jim Jordan, whose fame on Fox News and loyalty to former President Donald Trump could have eliminated other Republicans in a primary. Jordan announced on Thursday that he will not run.
The conversation, however, was already drastically shifting to a doctor with zero experience in elective positions who served as health director appointed by the Republican governor and would be a Democratic candidate. Amy Acton, who quickly won statewide acclaim and bipartisan admiration while overseeing the early days of the COVID-19 crisis, was considering a run for the job even before Portman’s surprise announcement.
Efforts to recruit Acton for the race were first reported on Monday by BuzzFeed News, with the Cleveland Plain Dealer reporting the next day that she was seriously considering the idea. Sources who have since been informed of Acton’s deliberations told BuzzFeed News that they expect her to signal her intentions by the end of the week. Another source familiar with her thinking believes she will “formalize her interest in some way” – probably a campaign committee that would allow her to raise and spend money for exploratory purposes – sometime next week.
Acton, 54, did not respond to requests for comment.
Several well-established Democrats are in the mix for Portman’s seat, including Congressman Tim Ryan and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, both of whom are also considering proposals for governor in 2022. Michael Coleman, former mayor of Columbus, announced Wednesday night that he’s thinking about a race. Likewise, Danny O’Connor, the elected registrar of property titles in Franklin County. With Jordan out, at least a dozen other prominent Republicans are eyeing the race, including state party president Jane Timken, Secretary of State Frank LaRose and former state treasurer Josh Mandel.
An application by Acton can quickly change the situation. She received encouragement from several noble Democrats, including those with close ties to Senator Sherrod Brown and former Governor Dick Celeste, the last two Democrats alive with some sustained success in Ohio.
“Imagine Dr. Amy Acton as the next United States senator from Ohio. Of course I can, ”Cleveland progressive journalist Connie Schultz, married to Brown, tweeted Tuesday night.
A source close to Brown said the senator is not taking sides anytime soon. “He is open to conversations with potential candidates, but he believes the party and eventual nominee are strongest when each candidate can expose his case to voters and let the citizens of Ohio decide for themselves,” said the source.
Acton received positive criticism for his aggressive and reassuring public person approach as Ohio health director last year, when his daily afternoon meetings with Governor Mike DeWine came into view during the early days of the pandemic. Ohio-based clothing company Homage launched a special edition shirt in his honor. The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum produced a statuette in its image, complete with a white coat. An April 2020 survey by Baldwin Wallace University rated its favorability at 64% and found that 55% of respondents trusted “a lot” the information they shared in daily briefings.
But as the pandemic became more politicized, with everything from masks to orders to stay at home under Trump-amplified party attacks, DeWine and Acton saw their guidelines under increasing scrutiny. Acton, who is Jewish and volunteered for Barack Obama in 2008 and had a history of Democratic votes, has also become a target for her religion and politics. State protesters carried signs scrawled with anti-Semitic messages. Protesters picketed his home in Columbus several times. A Republican lawmaker known for such provocations referred to Acton on Facebook as a “globalist” – an anti-Semitic whistle.
Acton resigned as director of health last June, but remained on DeWine’s board until August. She later joined the Columbus Foundation, a philanthropic organization, and has since avoided the spotlight, except for a New York profile in November. Acton, the magazine reported, feared “that she might be forced to sign health orders that violated her hypocratic oath to do no harm.”
“She has an embedded fan base not just in Ohio, but across the country,” Jeff Rusnak, an Ohio Democratic strategist, told BuzzFeed News. “Just based on speculation that she may be a candidate, I was surprised at how many people in my network of people across the country are excited about the possibility of her running.”
Other Ohio Democrats who are enthusiastic about Acton also cite his instant star power. The party has had so little in the past few decades that Jerry Springer, the former Cincinnati mayor who went on to become a bad TV personality, was repeatedly mentioned as a possible candidate for the Senate or governor.