COLUMBUS, Ohio—Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Amy Acton is officially getting backing from the last member of her party to win reelection as Ohio governor: Dick Celeste.
“I think her focus is not going to be on the high and mighty,” said Celeste in a YouTube video. “It’s going to be on ordinary Ohioans today. I think people are sick and tired of political parties and they just want someone who will listen to them and work for them.”
Celeste’s endorsement of the former state health director doesn’t come as a surprise: Acton has said she was initially approached about running for governor by Celeste and then-U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown.
Acton, in a statement, said she was “so honored to have this incredibly meaningful endorsement” from Celeste, who she called a “mentor and a friend.”
So far, Acton, who lives in suburban Columbus, is the only major candidate in the Democratic primary for governor next year.
Tim Ryan, a former congressman, 2020 presidential candidate, and 2022 U.S. Senate nominee, previously said through a spokesman that he’ll announce by the end of this month whether he’ll join the Democratic race as well.
Celeste, 87, served two terms as Ohio governor, from 1983 until 1991. He later served as U.S. ambassador to India under President Bill Clinton and president of Colorado College in Colorado Springs, where he has lived for the last two decades.
His endorsement statement echoes a line of attack that Acton’s campaign is increasingly using: that Acton, who spent part of her childhood homeless in Youngstown, has a better understanding of Ohioans’ problems than Republican gubernatorial frontrunner Vivek Ramaswamy, a suburban Columbus billionaire.
The winner of next year’s Republican primary for governor will likely be the favorite in the November 2026 general election, given Ohio’s rightward turn in recent years.
Celeste’s statement seems to follow the advice that he gave for Acton in an interview with The Plain Dealer/cleveland.com back in January: that to win, she needs to not just both capitalize on the goodwill she built up as state health director during the coronavirus crisis, but reestablish herself as a leader on issues voters care about now – from affording to buy a home to creating jobs for young Ohioans.
“Dr. Acton, I think, is focused on where ordinary Ohioans are struggling,” Celeste said in his endorsement video.
Celeste is the latest in a string of endorsements from Ohio Democrats that Acton’s campaign has released in the last month from around the state, including 16 state lawmakers, 2022 gubernatorial nominee Nan Whaley, ex-U.S. Reps. Ed Feighan and Mary Jo Kilroy, and dozens of current and former local elected officials.