The Ohio State Medical Association’s Political Action Committee has endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy, the GOP candidate for governor, over Democratic candidate Amy Acton, a licensed doctor.
OSMA is the major trade association for Ohio physicians. OSMA President Dr. Gary Katz wrote in a letter, released Monday morning, that its PAC arm may have broken for Ramaswamy this cycle because of what Ramaswamy is prioritizing, like “reducing government and insurance barriers.”
“Ramaswamy expressed the view that physicians must remain in charge of the healthcare process, and that insurers should not be making medical decisions that should be made between physicians and their patients,” Katz said.
But some individual doctors, many of them OSMA members, are defecting. More than 1,000 have signed a letter circulating in favor of Acton.
Dr. Lauren Beene, an East Cleveland pediatrician who is leading the Doctors for Dr. Amy Acton charge, said “they all believe very strongly that ... Acton is a far better candidate.”
“We are concerned the election of Vivek Ramaswamy as governor would be detrimental to our patients’ ability to access healthcare,” Beene said in an interview Wednesday. “Vivek Ramaswamy has said that Medicare and Medicaid are a mistake.”
In 2025, the Cleveland-based University Hospitals fired Beene for accessing and using an internal directory for what she has said was legal and in an effort to unionize. Beene and fellow terminated Dr. Valerie Fouts-Fowler have sued University Hospitals for defamation and wrongful termination.
“There was clearly a need for the physicians on the front lines to have a stronger voice to influence the system, and this is the same,” she said.
In his own letter, Katz mentioned the range of political persuasions of its members—who do not have say in who the OSMAPAC endorses.
“It is critical that we also remain focused on the principles that unite all physicians across political perspectives,” he said.
Four years ago, OSMAPAC endorsed Gov. Mike DeWine in his bid for reelection, as well as Democratic former Rep. Tim Ryan, who ultimately lost the U.S. Senate race to now Vice President JD Vance.
Ohio has more than 41,000 professionally active physicians, according to Kaiser Family Foundation data.
