Local Physician Backs Amy Acton for Ohio Governor in 2026 Race

Dr. Jeff Crecelius, a McArthur physician who trained alongside Amy Acton at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in 1990 and later served as her children’s doctor, published an opinion piece on Jan. 2 urging Vinton County voters to consider integrity and lived experience in the 2026 Ohio governor’s race. Crecelius framed the contest between Acton, the Democratic front-runner, and Republican Vivek Ramaswamy as consequential for a state he says has declined in education, health outcomes, life expectancy and economic opportunity, trends that have hit Ohio’s Appalachian communities hard.

Crecelius described Acton’s personal hardships and long public service career as the core reasons for his endorsement. He recounted her childhood instability, parents’ divorce at age three, moving a dozen times, years spent in a basement of a shop, a winter spent in a tent in Youngstown, and a more stable life from age 12 onward. He noted her academic drive through an accelerated six-year combined college and medical program while working three jobs. Professionally, Acton helped develop a residency program in child advocacy, earned a Master’s in Public Health, directed LOVE (Love Our Children/Vaccinate Early), taught maternal and child health and global public health at Ohio State University, won a teaching excellence award, and worked with The Columbus Foundation on vaping prevention and homeless youth issues.

Crecelius highlighted Acton’s leadership during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying she recognized the threat and led Ohio and others to act. The op-ed cited estimates that her interventions may have saved between 8,000 and 25,000 Ohioans between March and May 2020, and placed the state’s toll in the context of a national tragedy that has claimed 1.22 million Americans, including 43,000 Ohioans. He defended her decision to resign from her public health post after sustained pressure, writing that she would not sign orders she believed would cost lives when Speaker Larry Householder urged fairs to reopen; Householder is now serving 20 years in federal prison for bribery and corruption.

On the opposing campaign, Crecelius said he does not know Ramaswamy personally, acknowledging the candidate’s intelligence and family ties but questioning a lack of demonstrated concern for Ohioans who struggle. He pointed to Ramaswamy’s private high school education in Cincinnati, listed at $17,000 a year, and use of a private Lear jet for in-state travel, arguing these details make it difficult to see how Ramaswamy would relate to middle-class concerns. Crecelius wrote that the Ramaswamy campaign’s image as a ship called 'The Billionaire Has My Back' had "sprung a leak."

For Vinton County residents, Crecelius framed the choice as one about character and practical stewardship: the state’s next governor will shape public health responses, education priorities and economic policies affecting Appalachian communities already experiencing decline. He concluded that on measures of "integrity, truth, justice and kindness", what he cited from Martin Luther King, Jr. as 'content of character', no one matched Dr. Amy Acton. The views expressed were presented as the author’s opinion.