Dr. Acton Led Ohio Department of Health through Critical Months of COVID-19 Pandemic

March 11, 2021

PHILADELPHIA — Today, 314 Action Fund announced the launch of Run Amy Run, a grassroots campaign to encourage Dr. Amy Acton, former director of the Ohio Department of Health, to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Rob Portman in 2022. 

During the last election cycle, 314 Action Fund collected hundreds of thousands of signatures to successfully draft scientists Sen. Mark Kelly and Sen. John Hickenlooper to run for U.S. Senate and raised millions of dollars in grassroots donations for their campaigns.

314 Action Fund is kicking off Run Amy Run by launching a petition at RunAmy.Run where signers can encourage Dr. Acton to jump into the Ohio U.S. Senate race and pledge their support. This six-figure digital investment will serve as the foundation for building the strong grassroots base necessary for Dr. Acton to run and win. 

Should Dr. Acton enter the race, 314 Action Fund is committed to using its vast resources and six-million-strong membership base of grassroots donors to ensure that she is the Democratic nominee in this crucial race. In the 2020 cycle, 314 Action Fund’s independent expenditure arm spent over $11.5 million, including significant expenditures in several primary contests.

“Dr. Amy Acton running for U.S. Senate would change the game in Ohio, and 314 Action Fund is ready to jump in with our membership base of six million grassroots donors to ensure she’s the Democratic nominee,” said Joshua Morrow, Executive Director of 314 Action Fund. “During the worst public health crisis in a century, Amy saved lives by taking science-first action early in the pandemic to limit large gatherings. Last cycle, voters made clear that they trust scientists to lead by electing Mark Kelly and John Hickenlooper, who we drafted to run for Senate. We established grassroots donor bases for both, and we’ll do the same for Amy.”

In 2019, Dr. Amy Acton became the first woman to serve as director of the Ohio Department of Health, a role that took on even greater significance with the onset of COVID-19’s spread in the United States. Called “Ohio’s trusted face during the pandemic” and “the Buckeye state’s version of the straight-talking Dr. Anthony Fauci,” Dr. Acton took proactive measures to save the lives of Ohioans by moving to close schools, limit social gatherings, and mandate the wearing of masks in public spaces.

Prior to her time as a government official, Dr. Acton served as an associate professor of public health at the Ohio State University and as director of Project LOVE, which stands for “Love Our kids, Vaccinate Early.” She has also worked as a grants manager at the Columbus Foundation.

Dr. Amy Acton has solved complex problems using her scientific background and training, promising to be a champion of facts and evidence-based policies should she be elected to the U.S. Senate. With the fate of the Democratic Senate majority and President Biden’s pro-science agenda hanging in the balance, we need Dr. Acton’s experience and forward-thinkingness more than ever before.

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314 Action Fund is powered by a grassroots community of nearly six million people working to elect scientists, doctors, and STEM professionals who will use science and facts to address our most pressing issues like climate change and health care. In 2018 and 2020, we played a pivotal role in flipping the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, electing eleven Democratic scientists to federal office, as well as over 100 to key legislative districts. In 2021 and 2022, 314 Action Fund will continue working to elect science leaders and defeat climate deniers in Congress and legislatures across the country.