Amy Action ‘Domestic Dispute’ Report Stirring Up Ohio Governor’s Race

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Amy Action ‘Domestic Dispute’ Report Stirring Up Ohio Governor’s Race

A woman holds up a sign against Dr. Amy Acton outside of the Ohio State House in Columbus, Ohio on April 18, 2020, to protest the stay home order that is in effect until May 1st. (Megan JELINGER / AFP via Getty Images)

Rebecca Downs / @RebeccaRoseGold

Rebecca Downs is the Ohio correspondent for The Daily Signal. Send an email to Rebecca.

A recent report that police were called to the home of gubernatorial candidate Amy Action during a 2019 “domestic dispute” is raising questions as the election race heats up in Ohio.

Over the weekend, NBC News reported that Ohio’s former health director shattered a mirror pulled off the wall during a “verbal argument” with her husband.

Acton, who ran the Ohio Department of Health at the time, admitted to Bexley, Ohio, police that she had been drinking. The police report stated the verbal argument was over “her extended work hours” and that there was no evidence of physical violence.

That incident is sparking chatter in Ohio and elsewhere as she runs for governor.

Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou told The Daily Signal it’s a story that will “be in the minds of the voters.”

The story not only attracted the attention of many Ohioans, but also Donald Trump Jr., who referred to Acton on X as a “Leftwing psychopath.”

Vivek Ramaswamy, who is running for governor as a Republican, reposted Trump’s comment to his account, as did his pick for lieutenant governor, state Sen. Rob McColley.

Leftwing psychopath @amyactonoh shouldn't be running for Governor in Ohio, she should be seeking help. https://t.co/G8BDrQXeMu— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) April 11, 2026

Leftwing psychopath @amyactonoh shouldn't be running for Governor in Ohio, she should be seeking help. https://t.co/G8BDrQXeMu

NBC News reported that Acton’s campaign “disputed and sought to clarify several elements of the police report,” pointing out that she had one drink at dinner. During the incident, Acton “bumped into a wall hanging which fell,” the campaign told NBC News.

ABC News 5 spoke with Acton’s pick for lieutenant governor, David Pepper, who called the public reaction “sort of a desperate attempt to try and tear Amy Acton down.” Pepper characterized the situation as “a simple argument.”

Matt Dole, a crisis public relations consultant, told The Daily Signal that the Acton campaign so far has delivered “a brutally bad crisis communications response.”

He specifically took issue with the lack of transparency from the Acton campaign, noting that Pepper is taking the one responding.

“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 advised Acton to share the story on the day she was announcing her run for governor, so “when it came out, it wouldn’t have been a big deal.”

Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, whom Acton worked under as health director, apparently did not know about the incident prior to the news report.

“Governor DeWine was unaware of both the 2019 incident and associated police report involving Dr. Acton,” Dan Tierney, the governor’s spokesperson, said in a statement. “The governor holds his staff to the highest standards of conduct. Given that the allegations in the report are deeply troubling, Governor 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 told ABC News 5, “I don’t 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 said he did not see a need for Acton to have made the dispute public. “I think most people, when they have a private personal argument with their spouse, aren’t necessarily telling their boss about that,” he said.

Dole said 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,” Dole predicted.

The Acton campaign has not responded to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.

Triantafilou told The Daily Signal that Acton “should have” told DeWine, and that “Ohioans should be very alarmed” she didn’t.

“The question is, what else is she hiding from Ohioans at this point,” he added.

Triantafilou also took the opportunity to praise the likely Republican nominee.

“We think we’ve got a far better candidate in Vivek Ramaswamy,” Triantafilou said. “Our candidate is working extraordinarily hard, is going to be very well-funded, and I think there ought to be a robust conversation here about who ought to lead Ohio.”

Dole said Acton’s response speaks to her experience: “All of this points to what we know of Amy Acton. She is not a politician, and she is not ready for prime time.”

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