Concession Call Forwarded to Voice Mail!

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Forty-one-year-old, nouveau riche, native Ohioan Vivek Ramaswamy would have become the nation's first Hindu governor Tuesday night had he not had his butt soundly kicked by 60-year-old physician, Amy Acton, who will now become the state's first female and Jewish governor.  The race made national news a couple of weeks before election day when Ramaswamy, who had an easy time winning the GOP primary after he was endorsed by Donald Trump, pulled a Trump-like, sleaze-ball stunt by releasing a political ad that wound up producing a national revulsion toward Ramaswamy and his political tactics.

Everyone knows the story by now, but Ramaswamy, the GOP candidate, released a video featuring Amy Acton's elderly mother who appeared to be obviously impaired and in a state of mental decline.  In that ad, Acton's mother referred to her daughter as a liar.  Dr. Acton and her brother both immediately released statements that clarified the situation.  Acton's mother had lost custody of both of her children after their stepfather, the mother's husband, was arrested and indicted for sexual assault and rape of young Amy when she was eleven and twelve-years-old.   The step-father fled the area before his trial, and the mother, who refused to believe her daughter, went with him.  Amy and her brother grew up in foster care.

Speaking as a person who worked more that a decade in state child protection, I know that states sometimes fall short in achieving the best outcomes for children that the courts place in their care, but fortunately for Dr. Acton and her brother, that was not the case.  She went on to become a pediatrician and headed the state's health department, and her brother earned a master's degree and currently makes his living as an electronic media artist, creative technologist, and designer.  The child protection and foster care systems worked well for Amy Acton and her brother, giving them a much needed second chance at becoming successful adults in life.

Ramaswamy's political ad was quick to backfire, but Trump described it as "powerful" and encouraged the candidate to stand by it - which he did for a few days.  JD Vance, another Ohio native, defended the controversial advertisement and criticized other Republicans for complaining about it.

The people of Ohio had their say on election day - and Dr. Acton defeated Vivek Ramaswamy by almost five percentage points.

When the defeated Republican telephoned the victorious Democratic candidate on election night to concede, there were likely still some hard feelings over the low-rent billionaire choosing to rip open an old family wound - and Dr. Acton let her opponent's concession call go straight to voice mail!

Game, set, and match - Amy Acton!