Democrat Dr. Amy Acton may run for the U.S. senate seat currently held by Rob Portman...Acton is the former director of the Ohio Department of Health and was a key advisor to Gov DeWine on COVID-19 policies
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Former Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton, who held the director's job under Republican Gov Mike DeWine from 2019 until she resigned the post last year to take a job with the non-profit organization the Columbus Foundation, announced Thursday that she is considering running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Rob Portman, a Cincinnati Democrat who has said he will not seek reelection in 2022.
Other Democrats considering a bid for the powerful seat, one of two U.S. Senate seats in Ohio, include state Rep Emilia Sykes, the House minority leader who also leads the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus, and Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan, a Youngstown area Democrat and unsuccessful presidential candidate for the 2020 election.
Sen Sherrod Brown, a Cleveland Democrat, is the other U. S. senator from Ohio.
Brown has praised Acton but has not said which Democrat he will back to go after Portman's seat next year.
Acton told reporters this week that she will leave her job at the Columbus Foundation as she considers a possible run for the Senate seat, which is heavily favored for a Republican.
The Constitution sets three qualifications for service in the U.S. Senate.
The candidate must be at least 30-years-old, a U.S. citizen for a least nine years, and a residency in the state a senator represents at time of election.
Acton, 55, gained notoriety as DeWine's sidekick when the coronavirus hit the U.S. last march with a vengeance and the pair began shutting down restaurants, bars, public schools and nearly everything in Ohio but essential entities like grocery stores and gas stations.
And at one point police were actually knocking on doors and patrolling the streets to seek compliance with DeWine's COVID-19 orders, which included social distancing and mask wearing requirements.
This intrusion occurred mainly in places like Cleveland, a largely Black major American city and the state's second largest city behind Columbus, the state capital.
At first Acton and DeWine gained praise for the manner in which they handled the pandemic and Acton's popularity escalated.
But pressure began to mount from several venues upset over the stringent coronavirus requirements, including the business community.
Lawsuits began piling up regarding claims that shutting down Ohio over the pandemic was a nail in the coffin to Ohio's businesses, and that it was in many respects illegal, and unconstitutional.
Protesters soon began picketing DeWine at the statehouse and the governor's fellow Republicans in the state legislature began crafting legislation to curtail the his power relative to the virus, though he enjoys a $3.6 million political war chest today for his expected run for reelection in 2022.
DeWine has said that stringency was needed to tackle the virus
Acton resigned her post as Ohio's health director for the state in June of last year, nearly three months after the virus began raging through Ohio, and she is now leaving her second job at the Columbus Foundation.
Her supporters say she was effective in responding to the pandemic and that cases in Ohio increased after she stepped down as the state's health director.
DeWine, they say, was equally effective.
Their critics say otherwise.
Ohio currently ranks seventh in coronavirus cases with 914, 500 of them, behind California, Texas, Florida, New York Illinois, and Georgia.
The deadly virus for which there is finally a vaccine has spread to all 50 states and Washington, D.C. and the nation has more than 26.9 million reported cases and some 450,000 people dead.
Worldwide figures show that there are some 105 million cases globally, and roughly 2.3 million have died.
Whether Acton's popularity as the former director of health for the state will help catapult her to a U.S. Senate seat if she decides to run remains to be seen since she has never held public office.
She still has some popularity, and getting DeWine out of office in 2022 want be easy, pundits say.
If Acton does run for the U.S. Senate in 2022 as a Democrat, it is almost certain that she will not get DeWine's endorsement as he will be running on the state Republican ticket as an incumbent GOP governor.
Democrats now control the U.S. Senate, but only by a narrow margin, and with Portman not running next year, it gives the Democrats a fighting chance to snatch his Republican seat in what is sure to be a contentious election.
Acton attended Youngstown State University and earned a medical degree from Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in 1990, working to pay her way through college.
She completed her residency in pediatrics and preventive medicine and later earned a master's in public health from Ohio State University.
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper in Ohio and in the Midwest, and the most read independent digital news in Ohio. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.
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