Campaign personnel for Amy Acton, Ohios former health director and Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, got into a confrontation with a Republican political activist wielding a camera last Saturday at one of Actons campaign events in Harrison, Ohio.
When the cameraman approached Acton, asking her why she continued to decline invitations to debate her Republican challenger, Vivek Ramaswamy, her staff quickly rushed in to block him off from Acton.
The video, which shows Acton walking away from the interviewer, adds to criticisms from Ramaswamys camp that she hasnt given a good answer for why she isnt willing to do a debate as both candidates enter the homestretch of their campaigns.
“Dr. Amy Acton, why do you refuse to debate your opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy?” the interviewer asked.
“No photos, no videos,” the staff repeated. “I said â no pictures, no interviews.”
At one point in the confrontation, Actons staff seemed to have bumped into the cameraman, jolting his camera out of frame and prompting him to ask them to be “careful.”
Acton did not respond to the questions.
Earlier this month, after Ramaswamy accepted a debate invitation from CNN, Actons campaign told local media she would not accept.
“Dr. Actons focus is on talking with Ohioans, not platforming a scam artist who spreads baseless lies about her and her family, uses AI to falsely paint her as someone with a substance abuse problem, and shames Dr. Acton for being sexually abused as a child while Vivek stands with predators and abusers,” a campaign spokesperson said in a Sept. 2 statement.
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The response refers to a series of Republican attacks: her role in Ohios COVID response, a verbal domestic dispute in 2019 that she had while intoxicated, and AI-generated campaign ads that replaced her cars license plate with a “drunk mom” tag. It also nods to Ramaswamys quiet posture toward releasing the Epstein files at the outset of his gubernatorial campaign.
In his response, Ramaswamy ignored Actons needling.
He seized on her decision, calling into question her qualifications to lead the state as its top executive while, at the same time, refusing to press her case on a debate stage.
“Its too bad for Ohio voters that Acton wont take voter questions, wont debate, quit after failing as Ohios health director, and has some serious issues now surfaced in multiple police reports,” Ramaswamy said in a post to <a href="https://x.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/20952596333
