Staff members working for Amy Acton, Ohio’s former health director and Democratic candidate for governor, clashed with a Republican political activist filming at one of her campaign stops in Harrison, Ohio, last Saturday.
The confrontation began after the cameraman moved toward Acton and asked why she had continued to turn down debate invitations involving her Republican opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy. Members of Acton’s campaign team quickly stepped between the two and attempted to prevent him from getting closer.
Video from the encounter shows Acton leaving as the interviewer continues asking questions. The footage has fueled criticism from the Ramaswamy campaign, which has argued that Acton has not adequately explained her decision to avoid a debate as the Ohio governor’s race moves into its final stretch.
“Dr. Amy Acton, why do you refuse to debate your opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy?” the interviewer asked.
“No photos, no videos,” campaign staffers repeatedly said. “I said — no pictures, no interviews.”
During the exchange, staffers appeared to make contact with the cameraman, causing his camera to jolt away from the scene. He responded by asking them to be “careful.”
Acton did not answer the questions as she walked away.
Earlier this month, Ramaswamy agreed to a CNN debate invitation, but Acton’s campaign later told local news outlets that she would not participate.
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“Dr. Acton’s 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,” an Acton campaign spokesperson said in a Sept. 2 statement.
The statement pointed to several Republican lines of attack, including criticism of Acton’s role in Ohio’s COVID-19 response, a 2019 verbal domestic dispute in which she was intoxicated, and AI-generated campaign ads that changed her vehicle’s license plate to read “drunk mom.”
It also nods to Ramaswamy’s quiet posture toward releasing the Epstein files at the outset of his gubernatorial campaign.
In his response, Ramaswamy ignored Acton’s 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.
“It’s too bad for Ohio voters that Acton won’t take voter questions, won’t debate, quit after failing as Ohio’s health director, and has some serious issues now surfaced in multiple police reports,” Ramaswamy said in a post to social media.
Acton’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital about her interaction with the interviewer last Saturday.
Having cleared the Ohio Democratic primary, Acton will face off against Ramaswamy in the state’s general election on Nov. 3.