Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton is pledging not to own or invest in individual stocks as governor and is calling on Republican billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy to do the same.
“I will not allow special interests, corporations or billionaires to buy my state. I am calling on Vivek Ramaswamy to sell his individual stock and commit to not investing in data centers,” Acton said in a statement on Sept. 15. “I do not own any individual stocks, and as governor I pledge to not invest in or possess individual stocks. Meanwhile, Vivek Ramaswamy has personally invested millions of dollars in data centers."
As recently as April 6, Acton reported dozens of individual stocks, including investments in Microsoft, which is building data centers in central
Ohio, and Iron Mountain Inc., which owns a data center near Dayton, Cleveland's WEWS first reported.
But Acton sold all of her individual stocks on April 10, days after filing the financial disclosure report and months beforeshe pledged to impose a conditional moratorium on data centers, according to her campaign.
Her running mate, former Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper, also disclosed investments in data center giants Amazon, Meta and Microsoft and in Nvidia Corp., which describes itself as a "world leader in artificial intelligence computing," according to his disclosure form.
According to Acton's campaign, Pepper will place his individual stock holdings in a blind trust if elected lieutenant governor.
“Amy has finally been exposed that she owns stock in data centers," Ramaswamy spokesman Evan Machan said about the financial disclosures. "Her hypocrisy is becoming a pattern: say whatever it takes to get elected and hope Ohioans don’t notice the truth. If she’s confident in her record, she should debate Vivek on CNN before Election Day and answer for it.”
Acton's campaign has said she will not debate Ramaswamy and declined offers from CNN and Cincinnati's WLWT.
Ramaswamy reports investments in Microsoft, Amazon
Machan did not say whether Ramaswamy, who made his fortune in biotech investments, would sell his individual stocks. Ramaswamy owns stock in data center companies Amazon, Microsoft and Nvidia, according to his most recent financial disclosure form. He reported more than $20,000 in dividends from Microsoft on that report.
In 2023, Ramaswamy reported investing between $1 million and $5 million in Microsoft, which is building data centers across the nation, according todisclosures reported in the New York Times.
Ramaswamy's running mate, Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, also reported owning stock in Amazon andOracle Corp., according to a financial disclosure form required of state lawmakers.
Acton says these investments make Ramaswamy beholden to data center companies and unlikely to hold them accountable.
"If elected, he would continue to sell Ohio out. Ohioans deserve a governor who cares about making their lives better, not a billionaire who is only out for himself," she said in a statement.
Ramaswamy's personal wealth eclipses Acton's, according to financial disclosures. The GOP candidate has invested $30 million in his gubernatorial bid after contributingnearly $29 million to his failed 2024 presidential bid.
Ramaswamy and Acton are running to replace term-limited Gov. Mike DeWine. The current Republican governor reported dozens of individual stocks on his most recent financial disclosure form, including Microsoft dividends.
Data centers emerge as key issue in 2026 Ohio governor race
Both Acton and Ramaswamy are talking about data centers as a key campaign issue. Voters are frustrated with the tax breaks, energy use and secrecy surrounding data centers. An effort to ban most new data centers is aiming for the 2027 ballot.
Acton has proposeda conditional moratorium on new data centers until they meet certain requirements, including:
- Covering their own gas, water and electricity bills;
- Using union labor exclusively to build and maintain structures;
- Building in former industrial areas known as brownfields instead of on farms or in the middle of communities;
- Not using non-disclosure agreements.
Ramaswamy has pitched forcing data centers to pay for the electric billsof nearby residents and offset Ohioans' property tax burden.
State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@usatodayco.com or @jbalmert on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Amy Acton calls on Vivek Ramaswamy to sell stocks
