Democratic candidate for Ohio governor accosted at county fair

Mark Niquette, Bloomberg News on Sep 6, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

An armed individual lunged at Amy Acton, the Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, at a county fair on Sunday, drawing swift condemnation from her Republican opponent and Governor Mike DeWine.

Acton was speaking to a small group of people inside the Mahoning County Democratic Party tent at the Canfield Fair outside of Youngstown when there was a commotion that interrupted her speech. Two people were knocked to the ground. but Acton wasn’t injured.

An armed individual had lunged at Acton and injured multiple people, according to Acton’s campaign. A person was arrested at the tent with multiple weapons, Mahoning County Democratic Party Chairman Chris Anderson said in a social media post.

Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene told the local WFMJ TV station that the suspect was holding a phone or camera, and that two firearms were discovered.

Connie Luck, a spokesperson for the campaign of Vivek Ramaswamy, Acton’s Republican opponent, said in a statement that “candidates should be able to meet with voters without having to worry about threats or violence” and “what happened today is completely unacceptable and has no place in politics.”

DeWine said in a statement that he spoke to Acton, his former health director, and “she said to share with Ohioans that she is OK.” A man tried to forcefully push himself toward Acton as she was speaking, and the case is now in the hands of law enforcement and will be investigated thoroughly, the governor said.

“Violence or the threat of violence at political or public events is always unacceptable,” DeWine said.